Context Management¶

Set default values for common flags like --course-id so you don't have to type them repeatedly.

Overview¶

When working with a specific course, you typically run many commands with the same --course-id. Context management lets you set this once and have it apply automatically:

# Without context - repetitive
canvas assignments list --course-id 12345
canvas submissions list --course-id 12345 --assignment-id 67890
canvas modules list --course-id 12345

# With context - clean and simple
canvas context set course 12345
canvas assignments list
canvas submissions list --assignment-id 67890
canvas modules list

Setting Context¶

Use canvas context set to set default values:

canvas context set <type> <id>

Available Context Types¶

Type	Flag it replaces	Example
`course`	`--course-id`	`canvas context set course 12345`
`assignment`	`--assignment-id`	`canvas context set assignment 67890`
`user`	`--user-id`	`canvas context set user 111`
`account`	`--account-id`	`canvas context set account 1`

Setting Multiple Values¶

canvas context set course 12345
canvas context set assignment 67890

Now commands automatically use both:

# Uses course 12345 and assignment 67890
canvas submissions list

Viewing Context¶

See your current context settings:

canvas context show

Output:

Current context:
  course_id:     12345
  assignment_id: 67890

Clearing Context¶

Clear All Context¶

canvas context clear

Clear Specific Value¶

canvas context clear course
canvas context clear assignment

How Context Works¶

When you run a command, Canvas CLI checks if required flags are provided
If a flag is missing, it checks for a context value
Context values are used as defaults when flags aren't specified
Explicit flags always override context values

Example Flow¶

# Set context
canvas context set course 12345

# These are equivalent:
canvas assignments list                    # Uses context (course 12345)
canvas assignments list --course-id 12345  # Explicit flag

# Override context with a different value
canvas assignments list --course-id 99999  # Uses 99999, ignores context

Storage¶

Context is stored in your configuration file (~/.canvas-cli/config.yaml):

context:
  course_id: 12345
  assignment_id: 67890

Workflow Examples¶

Grading Workflow¶

# Set up context for grading session
canvas context set course 12345
canvas context set assignment 67890

# Now grade submissions efficiently
canvas submissions list
canvas submissions grade 111 --grade 95 --comment "Great work!"
canvas submissions grade 222 --grade 88

# Done grading, clear context
canvas context clear

Course Management Workflow¶

# Working on a specific course
canvas context set course 12345

# Run multiple commands
canvas assignments list
canvas modules list
canvas users list --enrollment-type student
canvas announcements list

# Switch to another course
canvas context set course 54321

Combined with Aliases¶

Context and aliases work great together:

# Set course context
canvas context set course 12345

# Create aliases that use context
canvas alias set hw "assignments list"
canvas alias set grades "submissions list"

# Use them - context provides the course ID
canvas hw
canvas grades --assignment-id 67890

Tips¶

Set context at the start of a work session
Clear context when switching tasks to avoid confusion
Use canvas context show to verify your current context
Explicit flags always take precedence over context