brightspace-mcp-server

# Brightspace MCP Server

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> **By [Rohan Muppa](https://github.com/rohanmuppa), ECE @ Purdue**

Lets your AI see your Brightspace classes, so you can just ask:

> "What's due this week?" · "Am I passing all my classes?" · "Summarize today's announcements" · "Turn my lecture slides into flashcards"

Works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, ChatGPT Desktop, Windsurf, and any other app that supports [MCP](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) (the standard way to plug tools into an AI). It only **reads** your courses — it never submits, edits, or deletes anything.

<p align="center">
  <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RohanMuppa/brightspace-mcp-server/main/docs/how-it-works.svg" alt="Architecture diagram" width="100%">
</p>

## Get started in 3 steps

1. **Install [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/)** (version 20 or newer) if you don't have it. Download, run the installer, done.
2. **Open a terminal and run the setup:**
   ```bash
   npx -y brightspace-mcp-server@latest setup
   ```
   It asks for your school's Brightspace address, your username and password, and how you normally do two-factor sign-in (phone approval, authenticator code, or a browser window). Your password goes into your computer's own password store (Keychain on Mac, Credential Manager on Windows), never into a file. At the end it connects itself to Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex, or Claude Code if you have them.

   **On a Mac:** when Keychain asks whether `node` may use the saved Brightspace password, choose **Always Allow**, not just Allow. That lets later sign-ins (the `auth` command and questions from your AI app) read it without asking again.
3. **Restart your AI app and ask it something** — the first question signs you in. If your phone asks you to approve a sign-in, approve it and ask again.

At one of these schools, add the flag and skip typing the address: `--purdue`, `--suny`, `--western`, `--tudelft`, `--cuny`, `--leiden`, `--mcgill`, `--ngeeann`, `--javeriana`.

**Rather have the AI install it for you?** Paste this into Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Copilot, or Codex:

```
Install brightspace-mcp-server for me by following
https://github.com/RohanMuppa/brightspace-mcp-server/blob/main/LLMs.md
(use --purdue at Purdue, --suny at SUNY, --tudelft at TU Delft, --cuny at CUNY, --leiden at Leiden, --mcgill at McGill, --ngeeann at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, or --javeriana at Javeriana Cali).
```

Using a different AI app? Add the command `npx -y brightspace-mcp-server@latest` to its MCP settings (on Windows: `cmd /c npx -y brightspace-mcp-server@latest`). Exact steps for each app: [docs/troubleshooting.md](docs/troubleshooting.md).

## Does my school work?

If your school uses D2L Brightspace, yes. These have automatic sign-in built in:

| School | Sign-in | Flag |
|--------|---------|------|
| Purdue | Microsoft (phone approval, authenticator code, or browser) | `--purdue` |
| SUNY | Shared site with a campus picker | `--suny` |
| Western University | Microsoft | `--western` |
| TU Delft | NetID (no two-factor) | `--tudelft` |
| CUNY | CUNY Login, authenticator code each time | `--cuny` |
| Leiden University | SURFconext → Microsoft | `--leiden` |
| McGill University | Microsoft Entra | `--mcgill` |
| Javeriana Cali | OneGate (password + authenticator code) | `--javeriana` |
| Ngee Ann Polytechnic | Microsoft Entra | `--ngeeann` |
| Any other D2L school | Paste your Brightspace address; if the login page isn't recognized, a browser window opens so you can sign in by hand | none |

School-specific quirks: [docs/sign-in.md](docs/sign-in.md#per-school-notes).

## Things to ask

| About | Try |
|-------|-----|
| Grades | "Am I passing all my classes?" · "Compare my grades across courses" |
| Due dates | "What's due in the next 48 hours?" · "Build me a study schedule for the week" |
| Assignments and rubrics | "What does the lab 4 spec actually ask for?" · "Why did I lose points on the analysis criterion?" |
| Quizzes and exams | "Which quizzes close this week?" · "Is there a midterm in the gradebook that isn't on my assignments list?" |
| Announcements | "Did any professor post something important today?" · "Read the file attached to today's announcement" |
| Course content | "Find the midterm review slides" · "Download every PDF from Module 5" · "Search this course for office hours" · or just read a file inline instead of saving it |
| People | "Who are the TAs for ECE 264?" · "Who is in my project group?" |
| Discussions | "Summarize the latest posts in the final project thread" |
| Lecture videos | "What did the professor say about pinch-off in Tuesday's recording?" (Kaltura and YouTube) |
| Calendar | "When is my midterm?" · "Is lab cancelled on Thursday?" |
| For instructors and TAs | "Which students haven't submitted Lab 4 yet?" · "What feedback did I leave on this student's homework?" · "Download that student's submitted PDF" (students see a clear "instructor access required" note) |

## Prompts

Apps with a prompt picker (like Claude Desktop) also offer four ready-made prompts, so you can start from one click instead of typing a question:

| Prompt | Arguments | What it asks for |
|--------|-----------|------------------|
| `weekly_briefing` | — | A 7-day rollup of what's due, what's new, and what changed in your grades, across every course |
| `grade_audit` | `courseId` (optional) | Analyzes grades for one course, or all of them, and flags missing or low-scoring items |
| `study_planner` | `daysAhead` (optional, default 7) | Plans study time from upcoming due dates and calendar events |
| `course_summary` | `courseId` (required) | Syllabus, content outline, assignments, and grades for one course |

## Settings you might want

All optional, set in your AI app's MCP `env` config or your shell. The full list is in [LLMs.md](LLMs.md).

| Setting | What it does |
|---------|--------------|
| `D2L_REMEMBER_MFA=true` | Tick Microsoft's "Don't ask again" box so later sign-ins skip the second factor (off by default; not for shared computers) |
| `D2L_HEADLESS=false` | Show the browser window during sign-in, for MFA methods that need a click |
| `D2L_DUO_PASSCODE=1` | On Duo, type a passcode instead of waiting for a push |
| `D2L_SESSION_COOKIE` / `D2L_ACCESS_TOKEN` | Skip the browser entirely with a pasted cookie or token ([how](docs/sign-in.md#no-browser-paste-a-session-cookie-or-token)) |
| `D2L_INCLUDE_COURSES` / `D2L_EXCLUDE_COURSES` | Limit which courses the AI sees, by course id |
| `D2L_ACTIVE_ONLY=false` | Include courses whose enrollment has ended |
| `D2L_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1` | Turn off the new-version notice |

## When it asks you to sign in

There's no separate login — asking a question signs you in, and it stays signed in on its own most days. When your school wants two-factor again, the number to approve shows up right in the answer; approve it on your phone and ask again. If your AI client shows tool progress messages, the number appears while the question is still running instead, and approving within 45 seconds (less if sign-in was slow to reach two-factor) finishes the original answer without asking again. If it ever gets stuck, run this in a terminal:

```bash
npx -y brightspace-mcp-server@latest auth
```

**On a Mac,** sign-in first reads your saved password from Keychain. If you picked a one-time **Allow** at the Keychain prompt, a later sign-in from your AI app or another terminal can fail or hang waiting for an approval nobody sees; pick **Always Allow** instead. That permission only lets the local Brightspace server read its own saved sign-in password, nothing else in your Keychain.

How often you're asked is up to your school, not this tool. Everything else about sign-in — Duo, authenticator codes, visible-browser mode, and running without a browser at all (Docker, WSL, hardware keys) — is in [docs/sign-in.md](docs/sign-in.md).

## Something not working?

- Run `npx -y brightspace-mcp-server@latest doctor` first — it checks your Node version, saved setup, credential store, Brightspace connectivity, saved sign-in, and installed version, and tells you exactly what to fix.
- **`Authentication failed: The native credential store is locked or unavailable.`** Your password store is locked or hasn't let this server read the saved password. Unlock it (on a Mac, log in or unlock Keychain Access), then run `npx -y brightspace-mcp-server@latest auth` again, or `setup` if that still fails, and choose **Always Allow** when Keychain asks.
- **It works in the terminal but not in the app:** the app starts it separately and may not see your password store yet — see [docs/troubleshooting.md](docs/troubleshooting.md).
- **Which version do I have?** Ask your AI "which version of the Brightspace server am I running?"
- **Still stuck?** [Open an issue](https://github.com/RohanMuppa/brightspace-mcp-server/issues) and paste what the terminal printed.

## For developers

Tool reference, response fields, and environment variables: [LLMs.md](LLMs.md). What's safe to build against: [STABILITY.md](STABILITY.md). Licensed under the MIT License.