Use this tool to retrieve all available Canvas courses for the current user. This tool returns a dictionary mapping course names to their corresponding IDs. Use this when you need to find course IDs based on names, display all available courses, or when needing to access any course-related inform...
AI agents call get_courses to retrieve information from Canvas MCP without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool queries and returns course metadata without modifying, deleting, or executing any operations. It is a straightforward read operation that retrieves existing data from Canvas LMS. The low severity reflects minimal risk—the worst outcome is information disclosure of course names and IDs the user already has access to.
From the tool's definition Tool description states it 'retrieve[s] all available Canvas courses' and 'returns a dictionary mapping course names to their corresponding IDs'. The verb 'retrieve' and the passive data access pattern indicate no side effects or modifications.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
Use this tool to retrieve all available Canvas courses for the current user. This tool returns a dictionary mapping course names to their corresponding IDs. Use this when you need to find course IDs based on names, display all available courses, or when needing to access any course-related information. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Canvas MCP MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Canvas MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for get_courses: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Canvas MCP. Nothing to install.
get_courses is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the get_courses rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for get_courses. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
get_courses is provided by the Canvas MCP server (noahjohannessen/canvas-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Every MCP server has a record like this.
Type a name, get the same breakdown: verified identity, auth posture, risk grade, capabilities, recommended policy.
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