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Canvas Sync

Seamlessly connect UniFlow to your school's Canvas LMS and keep all your courses, assignments, and materials in sync

Canvas Sync

UniFlow's Canvas integration lets you connect directly to your school's Canvas LMS through a built-in browser. Once connected, your courses, assignments, announcements, discussions, grades, and files are automatically synced — no manual entry required.

How It Works

UniFlow embeds a fully-featured browser inside the desktop app. You log in to Canvas with your own credentials, and UniFlow reads the content from pages you visit. This is similar to how password managers or accessibility tools interact with web pages.

Key Points

  • No web scraping or bots — UniFlow does not use automated crawlers
  • You authenticate yourself — Your Canvas password is never stored by UniFlow
  • Authorized access only — UniFlow reads content from pages you actively visit
  • Local-first — Synced data is cached on your device for offline access

Connecting to Canvas

  1. Click the Canvas button in the UniFlow title bar
  2. Enter your school's Canvas URL (e.g., https://canvas.university.edu)
  3. Log in with your Canvas credentials directly in the built-in browser
  4. UniFlow will automatically detect and begin syncing your courses

Once connected, a green indicator appears next to the Canvas button confirming your session is active.

What Gets Synced

UniFlow captures and organizes the following data from Canvas:

Data Type Details
Courses Course names, codes, schedules, and enrollment info
Assignments Titles, due dates, point values, submission types, rubrics, and attached files
Announcements Course announcements with full content
Discussions Discussion topics and replies
Modules Module structure, items, and linked resources
Grades Read-only grade information
Syllabus Course syllabus content
Files Downloadable course materials and attachments

Automatic vs. Manual Sync

Automatic Sync

When you browse Canvas inside UniFlow, data is synced in real time as you navigate. Visit a course page and its assignments, modules, and announcements are captured automatically.

Deep Scan

For a comprehensive import, UniFlow performs a deep scan of your course. This visits all sub-pages (assignments, modules, announcements, discussions) to capture complete data including:

  • Full assignment descriptions and instructions (HTML)
  • Rubric details with criteria and point values
  • All course module items
  • Discussion threads

Cloud Sync

Your synced course data is also uploaded to UniFlow's secure cloud for:

  • Cross-device access — Access your courses on any device where you're logged in
  • UniMind indexing — Course content is chunked and vector-embedded for AI-powered retrieval (see UniMind Engine)
  • Backup — Your data is protected by row-level security in the cloud

Canvas Toolbar

When browsing Canvas inside UniFlow, an intelligent toolbar appears on supported pages:

Quiz Assistant

On Canvas quiz pages, UniFlow can:

  • Detect and parse quiz questions (multiple choice, true/false, short answer, essay, fill-in-the-blank, numerical)
  • Provide AI-powered answer suggestions with confidence scores
  • Show explanations and cite course materials as evidence
  • Optionally auto-fill answers (with explicit user confirmation)

Note: Quiz Assistant is a study tool. Always use it responsibly and in compliance with your school's academic integrity policies.

Discussion Assistant

On Canvas discussion pages, UniFlow can:

  • Generate discussion replies based on the topic, rubric, and course context
  • Support multiple writing styles: academic, casual, critical, and creative
  • Customize reply length (word count target)
  • Use course materials as evidence for stronger arguments
  • Optionally search the web for additional references

Page Translation

UniFlow can translate Canvas page content between English and Chinese, making it easier for multilingual students to understand course materials.

Troubleshooting

Canvas session expired

If your Canvas session expires, UniFlow will prompt you to log in again. Simply click the Canvas button and re-authenticate.

Data not syncing

  1. Ensure you're logged into Canvas in the built-in browser
  2. Try refreshing the Canvas page
  3. Navigate directly to the course page you want to sync
  4. Restart the desktop app if issues persist

School Canvas not loading

Make sure your Canvas URL is correct (e.g., https://canvas.yourschool.edu). Some schools use custom subdomains. Check with your IT department if unsure.

Privacy & Compliance

  • Your Canvas credentials are handled directly by your school's Canvas server
  • UniFlow never stores your Canvas password
  • All synced data is stored locally and in your encrypted personal cloud storage
  • Cloud data is protected by row-level security — only you can access your data

For complete information, see our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

What's Next