Canva Skill

Use Canva Connect API for design creation, export, and asset upload workflows.

Prerequisites

Create a Canva Integration:

1. Go to https://www.canva.com/developers/
2. Create a new integration
3. 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 on first use and store tokens in ~/.canva/tokens.json.

API Base URL

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

Authentication

Get access token from local token file:

ACCESS_TOKEN=$(cat ~/.canva/tokens.json | jq -r '.access_token')

Refresh tokens automatically when the auth flow supports it.

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

• 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

1. List brand templates
2. Find an Instagram post template
3. Autofill with content
4. Export as PNG 1080x1080
5. Download exported file

Create Carousel

1. Create multiple designs using autofill
2. Export each as PNG
3. Combine for posting

Batch Export

1. List designs
2. Loop through and export each
3. Download all files

Error Handling

Handle common errors clearly:

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

Required Scopes

• design:content:read
• design:content:write
• asset:read
• asset:write
• brandtemplate:content:read

Tips

• Prefer Brand Templates for posters and slides when available.
• Batch exports to reduce repetitive work.
• Cache commonly used template IDs locally.
• Poll export jobs until complete before downloading.

Current Status

This local skill skeleton is installed in the workspace, but Canva API use is not ready until the integration credentials and first-time OAuth authentication are completed.