Canva Skill

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:

bash

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

code

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

Authentication

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

bash

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

Core Operations

List Designs

bash

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

Get Design Details

bash

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

Create Design from Template

bash

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

bash

# 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

bash

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

bash

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

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