Create, export, and manage Canva designs via the Connect API.

When to Use

• "Create an Instagram post about [topic]"
• "Export my Canva design as PNG"
• "List my recent designs"
• "Create a carousel from these points"
• "Upload this image to Canva"

Prerequisites

• Create a Canva Integration:

- Go to https://www.canva.com/developers/ - Create a new integration - Get your Client ID and Client Secret

• Set Environment Variables:

   export CANVA_CLIENT_ID="your_client_id"
   export CANVA_CLIENT_SECRET="your_client_secret"
   

• Authenticate (first time):

Run the auth flow to get access tokens (stored in ~/.canva/tokens.json)

API Base URL

https://api.canva.com/rest/v1

Authentication

Canva uses OAuth 2.0. The skill handles token refresh automatically.

# Get access token (stored in ~/.canva/tokens.json)
ACCESS_TOKEN=$(cat ~/.canva/tokens.json | jq -r '.access_token')

Core Operations

List Designs

curl -s "https://api.canva.com/rest/v1/designs" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" | jq .

Get Design Details

curl -s "https://api.canva.com/rest/v1/designs/{designId}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" | jq .

Create Design from Template

curl -X POST "https://api.canva.com/rest/v1/autofills" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "brand_template_id": "TEMPLATE_ID",
    "data": {
      "title": {"type": "text", "text": "Your Title"},
      "body": {"type": "text", "text": "Your body text"}
    }
  }'

Export Design

# Start export job
curl -X POST "https://api.canva.com/rest/v1/exports" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "design_id": "DESIGN_ID",
    "format": {"type": "png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080}
  }'
# Check export status
curl -s "https://api.canva.com/rest/v1/exports/{jobId}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" | jq .

Upload Asset

curl -X POST "https://api.canva.com/rest/v1/asset-uploads" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
  -H 'Asset-Upload-Metadata: {"name": "my-image.png"}' \
  --data-binary @image.png

List Brand Templates

curl -s "https://api.canva.com/rest/v1/brand-templates" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" | jq .

Export Formats

Format	Options
PNG	width, height, lossless
JPG	width, height, quality (1-100)
PDF	standard, print
MP4	(for video designs)
GIF	(for animated designs)

Common Workflows

Create Instagram Post

• List brand templates: GET /brand-templates
• Find Instagram post template
• Autofill with content: POST /autofills
• Export as PNG 1080x1080: POST /exports
• Download the exported file

Create Carousel

• Create multiple designs using autofill
• Export each as PNG
• Combine for posting

Batch Export

• List designs: GET /designs
• Loop through and export each
• Download all files

Rate Limits

• Most endpoints: 100 requests/minute
• Upload/Export: 30 requests/minute

Error Handling

Common errors:

• 401 - Token expired, refresh needed
• 403 - Missing required scope
• 429 - Rate limit exceeded
• 404 - Design/template not found

Scopes Required

• design:content:read - Read designs
• design:content:write - Create/modify designs
• asset:read - Read assets
• asset:write - Upload assets
• brandtemplate:content:read - Read brand templates

Tips

• Use Brand Templates - Pre-designed templates are faster than creating from scratch
• Batch Operations - Group exports to avoid rate limits
• Cache Template IDs - Store commonly used template IDs locally
• Check Job Status - Exports are async; poll until complete

Resources

• Canva Connect API Docs
• OpenAPI Spec
• Starter Kit

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