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Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

The format is based on Keep a Changelog, and this project adheres to Semantic Versioning.

[1.7.0] - 2026-01-25

Added

  • Command Aliases: Create shortcuts for frequently used commands
  • canvas alias set <name> "<command>" - Create an alias
  • canvas alias list - List all aliases
  • canvas alias delete <name> - Remove an alias

  • Aliases are stored in config and expand at runtime

  • Context Management: Set default values for common flags

  • canvas context set <type> <id> - Set course, assignment, user, or account context
  • canvas context show - Display current context
  • canvas context clear [type] - Clear all or specific context

  • Commands automatically use context when flags aren't provided

  • Output Filtering: Filter and sort command output

  • --filter <text> - Filter results by text (case-insensitive, searches all fields)
  • --columns <list> - Select specific columns to display
  • --sort <field> - Sort by field (prefix with - for descending)

  • Works with all output formats (table, JSON, YAML, CSV)

  • Enhanced Dry-Run Mode: Preview destructive operations with details

  • Delete commands show resource details before confirmation
  • Update commands show what would change

  • Works with --dry-run and --force flags

  • Curl Command Output: See equivalent curl commands with --dry-run

  • Useful for debugging and learning the Canvas API

  • Token redacted by default, use --show-token to include

  • Aggressive Auto-Update: Automatic update checking

  • canvas update enable - Enable automatic update checks
  • canvas update disable - Disable automatic update checks
  • canvas update check - Manually check for updates
  • canvas update status - Show update settings

Changed

  • Improved CLI UX inspired by modern tools (gh, kubectl, stripe-cli)
  • Documentation updated with new feature guides

[1.5.2] - 2026-01-14

Added

  • Per-instance API Token Authentication: New alternative to OAuth for simpler authentication
  • canvas auth token set <instance> - Configure API token for an instance
  • canvas auth token remove <instance> - Remove API token from an instance
  • Tokens stored in config file, can be mixed with OAuth per-instance
  • User-Agent Header: All API requests now include User-Agent: canvas-cli/VERSION
  • Required by Canvas API (enforcement coming soon per Canvas changelog)
  • Includes version for debugging and analytics
  • Auth Status Improvements: canvas auth status now shows authentication type (token/oauth/none)
  • Instance Helper Methods: HasToken(), HasOAuth(), AuthType() for config

Changed

  • Token authentication takes precedence over OAuth when both are configured for an instance
  • Improved error messages for authentication failures

[1.0.0] - 2026-01-09

Added

Core Functionality

  • OAuth 2.0 authentication with PKCE support
  • Local callback server mode for OAuth flow
  • Out-of-band (OOB) OAuth flow fallback for SSH/remote environments
  • Secure token storage using system keyring (macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager, Linux Secret Service)
  • Encrypted file storage fallback with AES-256-GCM encryption
  • User-derived encryption keys from machine ID + username
  • Multi-instance configuration management
  • Canvas version detection and compatibility handling

API Client Features

  • Comprehensive Canvas LMS API client
  • Adaptive rate limiting (5 req/sec → 2 req/sec → 1 req/sec based on quota)
  • Automatic pagination handling for large result sets
  • Exponential backoff retry logic with 3 max retries
  • Data normalization for consistent API responses
  • Custom error types with helpful suggestions and documentation links
  • Request/response logging with --debug flag

Commands - Authentication

  • canvas auth login - OAuth 2.0 authentication flow
  • canvas auth logout - Logout and clear credentials
  • canvas auth status - Check authentication status

Commands - Courses

  • canvas courses list - List courses with filtering options
  • canvas courses get - Get course details with includes
  • canvas courses users - List users in a course

Commands - Assignments

  • canvas assignments list - List assignments in a course
  • canvas assignments get - Get assignment details
  • canvas assignments create - Create new assignment with full parameter support
  • canvas assignments update - Update assignment with pointer types for optional fields
  • canvas assignments bulk-update - Bulk update multiple assignments

Commands - Users

  • canvas users me - Get current authenticated user
  • canvas users list - List users with filtering
  • canvas users get - Get user details
  • canvas users create - Create new user with pseudonym and communication channel
  • canvas users update - Update user with avatar support

Commands - Enrollments

  • canvas enrollments list - List enrollments in course/section
  • canvas enrollments create - Create new enrollment

Commands - Submissions

  • canvas submissions list - List submissions for assignment
  • canvas submissions get - Get submission details
  • canvas submissions grade - Grade individual submission
  • canvas submissions bulk-grade - Bulk grade from CSV

Commands - Files

  • canvas files upload - Upload files with progress tracking
  • canvas files download - Download files with resumable support

Advanced Features

  • REPL Mode: Interactive shell with command history, tab completion, and syntax highlighting
  • Smart Caching: TTL-based caching (courses: 15min, users: 5min, assignments: 10min)
  • Batch Operations: Concurrent processing with progress bars and error collection
  • Webhook Listener: Real-time webhook event handling with signature verification
  • Diagnostics: canvas doctor command for health checks and troubleshooting
  • Telemetry: Opt-in anonymous usage tracking for feature prioritization

Output Formats

  • Table format (ASCII tables with proper truncation)
  • JSON format (structured output)
  • YAML format (human-readable)
  • CSV format (for data export)

Developer Features

  • Comprehensive test suite with 90% coverage
  • HTTP request/response recording for tests
  • Mock Canvas API server for testing
  • Synthetic test data (no PII in test fixtures)
  • Race condition detection in tests
  • CI/CD ready with stable exit codes

Testing

  • 90% test coverage for core functionality (89.9% weighted average)
  • 8 out of 9 packages at 90%+ coverage
  • All tests passing (100% pass rate)
  • No race conditions detected
  • Comprehensive parameter testing for all API operations
  • Edge case coverage for error scenarios
  • Mock HTTP server testing with httptest

Security

  • OAuth 2.0 with PKCE (Proof Key for Code Exchange)
  • Secure credential storage with system keyring integration
  • AES-256-GCM encryption for file-based token storage
  • User-derived encryption keys (never stored)
  • Webhook signature verification with HMAC-SHA256
  • No hardcoded credentials
  • No sensitive data in logs or cache

Performance

  • Adaptive rate limiting respects Canvas API quotas
  • Smart caching reduces redundant API calls
  • Concurrent batch operations (5 concurrent by default)
  • Automatic pagination for large datasets
  • Efficient memory usage (<100MB for 10,000 cached items)
  • Progress indicators for operations >3 seconds

Documentation

  • Comprehensive README with quick start guide
  • Architecture documentation in docs/development/architecture.md
  • CONTRIBUTING.md with development guidelines
  • PROJECT_STATUS.md tracking implementation progress
  • COVERAGE_REPORT.md with detailed test coverage metrics
  • Inline code documentation with examples

Infrastructure

  • Go 1.21+ support with modern stdlib features (log/slog)
  • Cross-platform support (macOS, Linux, Windows)
  • Cobra CLI framework for command structure
  • Viper for configuration management
  • Standard Go project layout

[Unreleased]

Planned

  • Canvas Studio integration
  • GraphQL API support

[1.5.0] - 2026-01-14

Added

70+ New Write Commands

This release adds comprehensive write command support across all Canvas API resources:

Account Administration
  • canvas admins add - Add account administrator
  • canvas admins list - List account administrators
  • canvas admins remove - Remove account administrator
  • canvas roles create - Create custom role
  • canvas roles update - Update role permissions
  • canvas roles delete - Delete custom role
  • canvas roles list - List account roles
Analytics
  • canvas analytics activity - View course activity
  • canvas analytics assignments - View assignment statistics
  • canvas analytics department - View department-level analytics
  • canvas analytics students - View student analytics
  • canvas analytics user - View user-specific analytics
Assignment Groups
  • canvas assignment-groups list - List assignment groups
  • canvas assignment-groups get - Get assignment group details
  • canvas assignment-groups create - Create assignment group
  • canvas assignment-groups update - Update assignment group
  • canvas assignment-groups delete - Delete assignment group
Blueprint Courses
  • canvas blueprint get - Get blueprint details
  • canvas blueprint sync - Sync blueprint to associated courses
  • canvas blueprint changes - View unsynced changes
  • canvas blueprint associations list - List associated courses
  • canvas blueprint associations add - Add course associations
  • canvas blueprint associations remove - Remove associations
  • canvas blueprint migrations list - List sync history
  • canvas blueprint migrations get - Get migration details
Content Migrations
  • canvas content-migrations list - List migrations
  • canvas content-migrations get - Get migration details
  • canvas content-migrations create - Start content migration
  • canvas content-migrations issues - View migration issues
Conversations (Inbox)
  • canvas conversations list - List conversations
  • canvas conversations get - Get conversation details
  • canvas conversations create - Create new conversation
  • canvas conversations reply - Reply to conversation
  • canvas conversations forward - Forward conversation
  • canvas conversations add-recipients - Add recipients
  • canvas conversations mark-read - Mark as read
  • canvas conversations mark-unread - Mark as unread
  • canvas conversations archive - Archive conversation
  • canvas conversations unarchive - Unarchive conversation
  • canvas conversations star - Star conversation
  • canvas conversations unstar - Unstar conversation
  • canvas conversations delete - Delete conversation
  • canvas conversations batch-update - Bulk update conversations
Courses
  • canvas courses create - Create new course
  • canvas courses update - Update course
  • canvas courses delete - Delete/conclude course
External Tools (LTI)
  • canvas external-tools list - List external tools
  • canvas external-tools get - Get tool details
  • canvas external-tools create - Create external tool
  • canvas external-tools update - Update external tool
  • canvas external-tools delete - Delete external tool
  • canvas external-tools sessionless-launch - Get sessionless launch URL
Grades & Gradebook
  • canvas grades summary - View grade summary
  • canvas grades history - View grade history
  • canvas grades bulk-update - Bulk update grades
  • canvas grades final - Get final grades
  • canvas grades current - Get current grades
Groups
  • canvas groups list - List groups
  • canvas groups get - Get group details
  • canvas groups create - Create group
  • canvas groups update - Update group
  • canvas groups delete - Delete group
  • canvas groups users - List group members
  • canvas groups invite - Invite users to group
  • canvas groups join - Join a group
  • canvas groups leave - Leave a group
  • canvas groups categories list - List group categories
  • canvas groups categories create - Create category
  • canvas groups categories update - Update category
  • canvas groups categories delete - Delete category
Learning Outcomes
  • canvas outcomes list - List outcomes
  • canvas outcomes get - Get outcome details
  • canvas outcomes create - Create learning outcome
  • canvas outcomes update - Update outcome
  • canvas outcomes delete - Delete outcome
  • canvas outcomes groups list - List outcome groups
  • canvas outcomes groups get - Get group details
  • canvas outcomes groups create - Create outcome group
  • canvas outcomes groups update - Update group
  • canvas outcomes groups delete - Delete group
  • canvas outcomes import - Import outcomes
  • canvas outcomes alignments - View outcome alignments
  • canvas outcomes results - View outcome results
Assignment Overrides
  • canvas overrides list - List assignment overrides
  • canvas overrides get - Get override details
  • canvas overrides create - Create date/student override
  • canvas overrides update - Update override
  • canvas overrides delete - Delete override
  • canvas overrides batch-create - Bulk create overrides
  • canvas overrides batch-update - Bulk update overrides
Peer Reviews
  • canvas peer-reviews list - List peer reviews
  • canvas peer-reviews create - Assign peer review
  • canvas peer-reviews delete - Remove peer review assignment
Quizzes (Classic Quizzes)
  • canvas quizzes list - List quizzes
  • canvas quizzes get - Get quiz details
  • canvas quizzes create - Create quiz
  • canvas quizzes update - Update quiz
  • canvas quizzes delete - Delete quiz
  • canvas quizzes reorder - Reorder quiz questions
  • canvas quizzes validate-token - Validate access code
  • canvas quizzes questions list - List quiz questions
  • canvas quizzes questions get - Get question details
  • canvas quizzes questions create - Create question
  • canvas quizzes questions update - Update question
  • canvas quizzes questions delete - Delete question
  • canvas quizzes submissions list - List quiz submissions
  • canvas quizzes submissions get - Get submission details
  • canvas quizzes submissions start - Start quiz attempt
  • canvas quizzes submissions complete - Complete quiz attempt
Rubrics
  • canvas rubrics list - List rubrics
  • canvas rubrics get - Get rubric details
  • canvas rubrics create - Create rubric
  • canvas rubrics update - Update rubric
  • canvas rubrics delete - Delete rubric
  • canvas rubrics associations - List rubric associations
  • canvas rubrics associate - Associate rubric with assignment
  • canvas rubrics assessments - View rubric assessments
Course Sections
  • canvas sections list - List course sections
  • canvas sections get - Get section details
  • canvas sections create - Create section
  • canvas sections update - Update section
  • canvas sections delete - Delete section
  • canvas sections crosslist - Cross-list section
  • canvas sections uncrosslist - Remove cross-listing
SIS Imports
  • canvas sis-imports list - List import history
  • canvas sis-imports get - Get import details
  • canvas sis-imports create - Start SIS import
  • canvas sis-imports abort - Abort running import
  • canvas sis-imports restore - Restore deleted items
  • canvas sis-imports errors - View import errors
Raw API Access
  • canvas api - Make raw API requests to any Canvas endpoint
Modules Improvements
  • canvas modules publish - Publish module (convenience)
  • canvas modules unpublish - Unpublish module (convenience)
  • canvas modules items update - Update module item (was missing)
Enrollments Improvements
  • canvas enrollments create - Create enrollment
  • canvas enrollments update - Update enrollment state
  • canvas enrollments delete - Delete/deactivate enrollment
  • canvas enrollments accept - Accept enrollment invitation
  • canvas enrollments reject - Reject enrollment invitation
  • canvas enrollments reactivate - Reactivate enrollment
Submissions Improvements
  • canvas submissions update - Update submission
  • canvas submissions summary - Get submission summary

Webhook JWT Verification (Canvas Data Services)

  • JWT verification support: Use --canvas-data-services flag for Instructure-hosted Canvas instances that use Canvas Data Services
  • Custom JWK endpoints: Use --jwks-url for custom JWK endpoints
  • Automatic JWK caching: Public keys are cached for 1 hour and refreshed automatically
  • Fallback mode: Both JWT and HMAC verification can be enabled simultaneously

Fixed

UX Improvements

  • JSON output for write commands: All create/update/delete commands now properly support -o json output format
  • Rubrics response parsing: Fixed issue where rubrics were wrapped in {rubric: {...}} envelope
  • Conversations JSON keys: Fixed duplicate array bracket suffix [] in JSON request keys
  • Zero date display: Now shows "Not set" instead of "0001-01-01 00:00:00" for unset dates
  • Empty collections: Hidden in output instead of showing map[] or []
  • 404 error messages: Now include descriptive text explaining what resource was not found
  • Nested struct display: New formatStructCompact() for clean display of complex nested structures

Changed

  • External tools delete now requires --force flag for confirmation
  • Courses create now accepts --account as alias for --account-id

[1.4.0] - 2026-01-13

Added

Authentication Improvements

  • Automatic OAuth Token Refresh: Access tokens are now automatically refreshed using refresh tokens when they expire, eliminating the need for manual re-authentication
  • Instance Config Lookup: canvas auth login --instance <name> now automatically loads the URL and OAuth credentials from your config file
  • Positional Instance Name: canvas config add now accepts instance name as a positional argument: canvas config add production --url https://canvas.example.com

Table Output Improvements

  • Compact Table Output: Default table output now shows only key fields for cleaner display
  • Verbose Mode: Use -v/--verbose flag to see all fields in table output
  • Improved Field Selection: Key fields are optimized for each resource type (Course, User, Assignment, etc.)
  • Instance Name Support: The --instance flag now accepts instance names (not just URLs)

Changed

  • canvas config add <name> --url <url> syntax replaces canvas config add --name <name> --url <url>
  • Table formatter now uses structured formatters instead of custom display functions
  • Removed "Found X items:" messages in compact (non-verbose) mode

Fixed

  • Pre-commit hook now includes golangci-lint for catching lint issues before push
  • Removed unused display functions that were causing lint warnings
  • Documentation updated to reflect correct CLI syntax and behavior

Developer Experience

  • Pre-commit Linting: Added golangci-lint to pre-commit hook for early lint error detection
  • Documentation Accuracy: Fixed documentation to match actual CLI behavior (sync command syntax, environment variables, flags)

[1.1.0] - 2026-01-10

Added

Commands - Modules

  • canvas modules list - List modules in a course
  • canvas modules get - Get module details
  • canvas modules create - Create new module
  • canvas modules update - Update module
  • canvas modules delete - Delete module
  • canvas modules relock - Relock module progressions
  • canvas modules items - List items in a module
  • canvas modules items get - Get module item details
  • canvas modules items create - Create module item
  • canvas modules items update - Update module item
  • canvas modules items delete - Delete module item
  • canvas modules items done - Mark module item as done
  • canvas modules items not-done - Mark module item as not done

Commands - Pages

  • canvas pages list - List wiki pages in a course
  • canvas pages get - Get page by URL or ID
  • canvas pages front - Get front page
  • canvas pages create - Create new page
  • canvas pages update - Update existing page
  • canvas pages delete - Delete page
  • canvas pages duplicate - Duplicate page
  • canvas pages revisions - List page revisions
  • canvas pages revert - Revert to specific revision

Commands - Discussions

  • canvas discussions list - List discussion topics
  • canvas discussions get - Get discussion details
  • canvas discussions create - Create new discussion
  • canvas discussions update - Update discussion
  • canvas discussions delete - Delete discussion
  • canvas discussions entries - List discussion entries
  • canvas discussions post - Post new entry
  • canvas discussions reply - Reply to entry
  • canvas discussions subscribe - Subscribe to topic
  • canvas discussions unsubscribe - Unsubscribe from topic

Commands - Announcements

  • canvas announcements list - List course announcements
  • canvas announcements get - Get announcement details
  • canvas announcements create - Create new announcement
  • canvas announcements update - Update announcement
  • canvas announcements delete - Delete announcement

Commands - Calendar

  • canvas calendar list - List calendar events
  • canvas calendar get - Get event details
  • canvas calendar create - Create new event
  • canvas calendar update - Update event
  • canvas calendar delete - Delete event
  • canvas calendar reserve - Reserve time slot

Commands - Planner

  • canvas planner items - List planner items
  • canvas planner notes list - List planner notes
  • canvas planner notes get - Get note details
  • canvas planner notes create - Create planner note
  • canvas planner notes update - Update note
  • canvas planner notes delete - Delete note
  • canvas planner complete - Mark item as complete
  • canvas planner dismiss - Dismiss item from planner
  • canvas planner overrides - List planner overrides

Testing

  • Added comprehensive tests for all new API services
  • Tests for Modules, Pages, Discussions, Announcements, Calendar, and Planner
  • All tests passing with consistent patterns

Version History

  • 1.5.0 (2026-01-14) - Major feature release
  • 70+ new write commands across all Canvas API resources
  • JWT verification for Canvas Data Services webhooks
  • Comprehensive UX improvements and bug fixes
  • 1.4.0 (2026-01-13) - Feature release
  • Automatic OAuth token refresh
  • Instance config lookup for auth login
  • Improved table output with verbose mode
  • 1.1.0 (2026-01-10) - Feature release
  • Modules, Pages, Discussions, Announcements, Calendar, Planner commands
  • Comprehensive API coverage for course content management
  • 1.0.0 (2026-01-09) - Initial production release
  • All v1.0 scope features complete
  • 90% test coverage achieved
  • Production-ready and stable

For more details on each change, see the commit history.

For planned features and roadmap, see the Unreleased section above.