Canvas Archiver

A command-line tool to archive Canvas LMS course content, including files, modules, and Panopto video recordings.

Prerequisites

• Go 1.21 or higher
• yt-dlp installed and in PATH

Installation

git clone git.directme.in/Joren/CanvasArchiver
cd CanvasArchiver
go build -o canvasarchiver ./cmd/canvasarchiver

Usage

1. Run the archiver:

   ./canvasarchiver
   

   Or for files-only mode (all files flat, no videos):

   ./canvasarchiver -fo
   

   Or for videos-only mode (all Panopto videos flat, no files):

   ./canvasarchiver -vo
   

2. On first run, you'll be prompted to authenticate:

   • Visit the provided OAuth URL
   • Authorize the application
   • Copy the authorization code back to the terminal

3. Enter your Course ID when prompted (or use -me to download all enrolled courses)

4. The tool will download:

   • Regular course files (to Course Files/)
   • Module content (to Modules/)
   • Panopto recordings (to Recordings/)

   In -vo mode, only videos are downloaded — all into the course root directory (no subdirectories).

Flags

Flag	Description
-fo	Files only — download all files flat into one directory; skips videos and module structure
-vo	Videos only — scan recordings and all module video items, download everything flat into one directory; skips regular files
-me	Download all enrolled courses
-n	Prefix modules with order numbers [1], [2], etc.

Configuration

The following constants can be modified in internal/config/config.go:

• BaseURL: Canvas instance URL
• ClientID: OAuth client ID
• ClientSecret: OAuth client secret
• PanoptoID: Panopto external tool ID

Authentication

Credentials are stored in credentials.json after the first successful login. The refresh token is automatically used for subsequent runs.

Notes

• Files are organized to match Canvas structure
• SubHeaders in modules create nested folder structures
• Videos are downloaded with their original titles
• Existing files are skipped to avoid re-downloading

License

This project is for educational purposes. Ensure you have permission to download course content.