Changelog

Unreleased

Fixed

• scripts/tunnel.sh --store-key saved only the first 128 characters of the OpenAI runtime key: the Keychain tool's own hidden prompt stops there, and OpenAI keys are longer. The tunnel then failed to sign in with 401 invalid_api_key. The helper now reads the key itself (hidden, twice), checks that it starts with sk-, and passes it to the Keychain on stdin without the limit. If you saved a key with 0.4.0, save it again.

0.4.0 (2026-10-02)

The first public release: one runtime on your Mac, with setup guides for Claude, ChatGPT and Codex.

New

• Claude Code plugin in .claude-plugin/, installed with /plugin marketplace add NeerAeron/canvas-reader and /plugin install canvas-reader@canvas-reader. It declares the server inline (no root .mcp.json), starts the installed runtime, includes the skill, and has optional settings for the Canvas address, token (secure storage) and time zone. It validates with older and current Claude Code.
• Claude Desktop extension: canvas-reader-X.Y.Z.mcpb (MCP Bundle manifest 0.3), built with build_plugin.py --mcpb from the same settings.
• Codex plugin marketplace in .agents/plugins/marketplace.json for the skill (codex plugin marketplace add NeerAeron/canvas-reader). Codex reads it before the Claude marketplace file and uses the root plugin.json, which starts no server.
• Client guides: docs/clients/claude-apps.md (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, cloud tasks linked to your Mac), docs/clients/chatgpt.md (Secure MCP Tunnel for ChatGPT, Work, Codex in the ChatGPT app and dot) and docs/clients/codex.md. Each says which clients aren't supported and why.
• scripts/launch.sh starts the installed, active version for any MCP client, so client settings survive updates. It prints one clear line if nothing is installed, and ignores empty or unexpanded client settings.
• versions.py update in a git clone installs the clone's own source when it is newer than every release zip: git pull, then versions.py update.
• versions.py update --github downloads the newest published GitHub release, checks it against the release's SHA256SUMS, then installs it.
• The Canvas token can live in the macOS Keychain instead of the credential file: versions.py token store (also forget and status). The reader uses it only when neither the credential file nor the client sets a token. uninstall --credentials removes it too.
• New original icon: a stack of course pages with a Canvas-red bookmark and a check, in assets/icon.svg, with 512 px light and dark PNGs. The red ties it to Canvas without using Instructure's emblem; the previous logos, which were based on that emblem, are removed. The skill carries its own copy for Codex.
• SECURITY.md (private reporting and the threat model) and CONTRIBUTING.md.

Changed

• Leaner tool list: 30 tools instead of 34. Four upstream tools that only repeated Canvas Reader's, less accurately, are gone: list_assignments (raw UTC dates), get_my_submission_status (older status rules), get_course_content_overview (a preview often taken for the syllabus) and get_page_details (a 500-character preview). Upstream resource templates and the summarize-course prompt, which repeated tools, are gone too. Upstream descriptions that named tools the server doesn't offer are reworded. The model now reads about 14% less about the tools in every session. Tests map every tool to a coverage area and cap the list's size.
• The default time zone is America/Los_Angeles (it was UTC). Set TIMEZONE in the credential file for another one.
• The README is rewritten for new users, with a "Works with" table for every client. docs/SETUP.md is now the Mac guide: install, credentials, check, updates, troubleshooting and removal.
• The server instructions and skill no longer favor the tunnel: when more than one Canvas Reader connection is available, the assistant uses the one you prefer and says which it used.
• tunnel.sh --setup points a new profile straight at the installed version, so link-tunnel is only needed for older profiles. Its "missing client" message recommends brew install openai/tools/tunnel-client.
• versions.py bump also sets the version in .claude-plugin/plugin.json.
• After an install, versions.py points to the client guides instead of link-tunnel, and its restart hint covers Claude and Codex as well as the tunnel.
• Tracing in the upstream MCP library is forced off, alongside its update check.
• plugin.json has homepage and repository. CLAUDE.md moved to .claude/CLAUDE.md so it isn't mistaken for plugin content.
• Releases: dist/ (tracked in git) keeps every release, with each version's zip, .mcpb and SHA256SUMS-X.Y.Z, plus the source snapshots that versions.py bump saves. A clone can install the newest with versions.py update, or any earlier one, offline. build_plugin.py --release adds a version's files and --check-dist checks them.
• CI on macOS and Linux with Python 3.11–3.14 runs the tests and builds the release files; Python 3.9 runs the version-manager tests; the Claude plugin and the .mcpb are validated. A v* tag creates a draft GitHub release.

Fixed

• A blank value in the credential file (such as CANVAS_API_TOKEN=) no longer erases the same setting passed by the client.

Removed

• The portable, openai and workflow build targets, the scripts/local-backup.sh helper, mcp.json, config/local-mcp.json, the Canvas-like icons and the legacy docs (USAGE, TUNNEL, LOCAL-INSTALL, WORKFLOW, REGISTRATION, docs/archive/). Git history keeps them.

0.3.3 (2026-10-02)

• Neer Aeron is listed as author in plugin.json, pyproject.toml and LICENSE.
• Setup no longer assumes a particular Mac, folder or credential file, and .env.example uses the neutral UTC timezone default. Set TIMEZONE for local deadlines.
• .cache/ is ignored by git; verification reports no longer describe a real account's courses, and the docs no longer include a specific tunnel ID.
• Public documentation omits personal installation and device details. Setup covers source checkouts and downloaded bundles; privacy text names the chosen client and model provider and accurately describes in-memory cache expiry.
• Icons retain their artwork with image provenance removed. ZIPs use neutral timestamps and exclude local runtime and planning files.
• Release builds reject personal home paths, connection IDs, literal credentials and image metadata. Author information is preserved, and supporting setup documents are included in the bundle.

0.3.2 (2026-10-02)

• Recovery pagination follows Canvas continuation links instead of guessing completeness from page length.
• RTF emoji are decoded safely; missing referenced Office parts are reported.
• Embedded Word documents share an extraction budget.
• Failed version activation restores the previous version and state.
• Uninstall refuses folders containing unrelated files, but removes interrupted-install leftovers and Finder .DS_Store files.
• Setup instructions cover an existing credential file and the manual local backup.

0.3.1 (2026-10-02)

New

• scripts/versions.py installs each version in its own folder (~/.local/share/canvas-reader/versions/X.Y.Z) with its own Python environment. A new version becomes active only after it starts correctly, and rollback switches back in one step. update installs the newest bundle from dist/; status shows what's active, what the tunnel runs and which readers need a restart. link-tunnel points the tunnel profile at the active version (with a backup), and uninstall removes everything it installed. It uses only the Python standard library and supports Python 3.9+. The server needs 3.11+.
• Partial results instead of failures. When Canvas or a file fails partway, the tools return what loaded, with status: "partial" and a notice first that starts PARTIAL RESULT and says what failed and what may be missing. The instructions tell the assistant to say the answer is incomplete.
  • Assignment and course lists are retried once, then loaded page by page, so every page that works is kept.
  • A damaged PDF page, slide, chart, diagram, header, footnote or comment part is skipped and named; the rest of the file is read. Damaged XML is repaired where possible and reported.

Fixed

• Stopping the reader (Control-C, the tunnel stopping, or the client disconnecting) exits within a second without a traceback, even mid-way through a long PDF. 0.3.0 printed a long traceback on Control-C.
• One unreadable slide no longer loses the whole deck.

Changed

• Course text is held in memory only and wiped when the reader stops; nothing is written to disk. canvas-mcp's audit logs and fastmcp's update check are off.
• Quieter logs: warnings and errors only. Set LOG_LEVEL=INFO in the credential file for more.
• SETUP now installs through versions.py, and Codex runs ~/.local/share/canvas-reader/current/scripts/start.sh.

0.3.0 (2026-10-02)

New

• get_upcoming_deadlines: what's due across all active courses in one call, with recent overdue work, local due times (weekday and time zone), status and links. It replaces upstream get_my_upcoming_assignments, which had no links, IDs or overdue work.
• PowerPoint files: slide text, tables, charts, SmartArt, speaker notes, comments and hidden slides. RTF files are also read.
• search_course_document: find a phrase in a course file and jump to it.
• Credentials load automatically from ~/.config/canvas-reader/canvas.env.
• scripts/tunnel.sh --store-key keeps the OpenAI runtime key in the macOS Keychain; --run and --doctor load it, and --forget-key removes it.
• constraints.txt pins the tested dependency versions.

Fixed

• Word files are read completely. Text in content controls was silently dropped; headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, comments, text boxes, charts and SmartArt were only flagged as unread. All are now included.
• Submission status: graded-but-never-submitted work no longer counts as completed, and excused or on-paper work no longer looks unfinished. A new submission.status field says which case applies.
• Due dates come with due_at_local and due_display, so the assistant doesn't convert UTC itself.
• Continuing or searching a document reuses its text for 15 minutes instead of downloading and parsing it again. Long PDFs keep going across calls instead of stopping at page 1,000 or timing out.
• Document text is wrapped in the same untrusted-content markers as the other tools.
• .env.example no longer suggests a .env file in the project, which was never read. Broken doc pointers, the setuptools floor and the User-Agent version are fixed.

Changed

• Removed search_canvas_tools and the code-API resource, which advertised disabled TypeScript features.
• A credential file now overrides stray shell variables. The reader drops the tunnel's OpenAI key from its environment and warns if the credential file is readable by other users. An expired token produces a clear auth_error.
• Rewrote and shortened the server instructions and skill. The time zone comes from your settings.
• python-docx is no longer a runtime dependency; Word and PowerPoint XML is read directly with lxml. pypdf[crypto] is declared for encrypted PDFs.
• Icons resized to 512 px. Docs condensed into README, SETUP and VERIFICATION.

Building this release installed, registered and changed nothing in any account. The bundle contains no connection IDs, keys or tokens.

0.2.0 (2026-10-01)

A single bundle: tunnel access by default with an opt-in local stdio backup.