Canva MCP server ​

The Canva MCP server enables LLMs to interact with Canva for structured design and content operations through natural conversation. It provides tools to search designs, retrieve design metadata, organize designs and assets into folders, upload reusable assets, and export designs into shareable formats without requiring direct interaction with the Canva interface.

Uses ​

Use the Canva MCP server to perform the following actions:

• Search for existing designs using keywords and filters
• Retrieve metadata and access links for a specific design
• Export a design in a shareable format
• Upload reusable assets from a URL
• Create folders for asset organization
• List the contents of a folder
• Track the status of export and asset upload jobs

Example prompts ​

Use the following example prompts to invoke Canva MCP server tools:

• Find all designs that mention our Q3 product launch.
• Get the metadata and shareable link for the design titled Sales Deck Template.
• What export formats are available for this design?
• Export this design as a PDF and give me the download link.
• Check the status of the export job I started for the campaign deck.
• Upload this logo image from the URL and make it available in Canva.
• Show me everything inside the Marketing Assets folder.
• Create a new folder called Q3 Campaign and move these designs into it.
• Move this asset into the Brand Library folder.
• Get the metadata for the asset I just uploaded.

Canva MCP server tools ​

The Canva MCP server provides the following tools:

Install the Canva MCP server ​

Complete the following steps to install a prebuilt MCP server to your project:

Canva connection setup ​

How to use Canva MCP server tools ​

Refer to the following sections for detailed information on available tools:

search_designs tool ​

The search_designs tool searches Canva designs using keywords and filters. Your LLM uses this tool to locate existing designs by topic, name, or other criteria so it can retrieve, export, or organize them in subsequent steps.

Try asking:

• Find all designs related to our summer campaign.
• Search for designs that mention onboarding.
• Show me the most recent designs that include the word webinar.

get_design tool ​

The get_design tool retrieves metadata and access links for a Canva design. Your LLM uses this tool to inspect a specific design's details and obtain links to view or share it after identifying it through a search.

Try asking:

• Get the details for the design titled Q3 Sales Deck.
• Give me the shareable link for this design.
• What's the metadata for the design I just found?

get_design_export_formats tool ​

The get_design_export_formats tool retrieves available export formats for a Canva design. Your LLM uses this tool to determine which formats a design can be exported into before initiating an export job.

Try asking:

• What export formats are available for this design?
• Can I export this design as a PDF?
• List the file types I can export this deck to.

create_design_export_job tool ​

The create_design_export_job tool initiates an export job for a Canva design. Your LLM uses this tool to start exporting a design into a chosen shareable format for distribution.

Try asking:

• Export this design as a PDF.
• Start an export job for this deck in PNG format.
• Create an export of the campaign design so I can share it.

get_design_export_job tool ​

The get_design_export_job tool retrieves the status and result of a Canva design export job. Your LLM uses this tool to check whether an export has completed and to obtain the resulting download links.

Try asking:

• Check the status of my export job.
• Is the PDF export finished yet?
• Get the download link for the completed export.

upload_asset_from_url tool ​

The upload_asset_from_url tool uploads an image or video asset to Canva from a URL. Your LLM uses this tool to bring reusable assets into Canva so they can be referenced across designs and templates.

Try asking:

• Upload this logo image from the URL into Canva.
• Add this product photo from this link as an asset.
• Upload the video at this URL to Canva.

get_asset_upload_job tool ​

The get_asset_upload_job tool retrieves the status and result of an asset upload job. Your LLM uses this tool to confirm that an asset upload has completed and to obtain the resulting asset reference.

Try asking:

• Check the status of my asset upload.
• Has the logo finished uploading?
• Get the result of the upload job I started.

get_asset tool ​

The get_asset tool retrieves metadata for a Canva asset. Your LLM uses this tool to inspect the details of an existing asset before reusing it in a design or moving it into a folder.

Try asking:

• Get the metadata for the asset I just uploaded.
• Show me the details of this asset.
• What are the properties of this image asset?

list_folder_items tool ​

The list_folder_items tool lists the contents of a Canva folder. Your LLM uses this tool to review the designs, assets, and subfolders stored in a folder when organizing or locating content.

Try asking:

• Show me everything inside the Marketing Assets folder.
• List the designs in the Q3 Campaign folder.
• What's stored in this folder?

create_folder tool ​

The create_folder tool creates a folder in Canva. Your LLM uses this tool to set up new folders for organizing designs and assets.

Try asking:

• Create a folder called Q3 Campaign.
• Make a new folder named Brand Library.
• Set up a folder for our webinar assets.

move_to_folder tool ​

The move_to_folder tool moves a design, asset, or folder to another folder. Your LLM uses this tool to reorganize content by relocating items into the appropriate folder.

Try asking:

• Move this design into the Q3 Campaign folder.
• Relocate this asset to the Brand Library folder.
• Move these designs into the Archive folder.

Getting started ​

View and manage your MCP server tools in the Overview page Tools section. Tool management provides the following capabilities:

• Start tools
• Remove tools
• Edit tools
• Add tools
• Edit your LLM-facing MCP server description