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 supported commands apply it automatically:

# Without context - repetitive
canvas assignments list --course-id 12345
canvas assignments get 67890 --course-id 12345

# With context - clean and simple
canvas context set course 12345
canvas assignments list
canvas assignments get 67890

Which commands use context

Context is currently applied by canvas assignments list and canvas assignments get (course context). Other commands still require their flags explicitly. The other context types (assignment, user, account) are stored for future use but not yet consumed by any command.

Setting Context¶

Use canvas context set to set default values:

canvas context set <type> <id>

Available Context Types¶

Type	Related flag	Example	Used by
`course`	`--course-id`	`canvas context set course 12345`	`assignments list`, `assignments get`
`assignment`	`--assignment-id`	`canvas context set assignment 67890`	(stored, not yet consumed)
`user`	`--user-id`	`canvas context set user 111`	(stored, not yet consumed)
`account`	`--account-id`	`canvas context set account 1`	(stored, not yet consumed)

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 supported command, Canvas CLI checks if the flag is provided
If the flag is missing, it falls back to the stored context value
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¶

Course Review Workflow¶

# Working on a specific course
canvas context set course 12345

# Context fills in the course ID
canvas assignments list
canvas assignments get 67890

# Commands without context support still take explicit flags
canvas modules list --course-id 12345
canvas users list --course-id 12345 --enrollment-type student

# 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 an alias that benefits from context
canvas alias set hw "assignments list"

# Use it - context provides the course ID
canvas hw

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