Canva Automation via Rube MCP

Automate Canva design operations through Composio's Canva toolkit via Rube MCP.

Prerequisites

Rube MCP must be connected (RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS available)
Active Canva connection via
```
RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS
```
with toolkit
```
canva
```
Always call
```
RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS
```
first to get current tool schemas

Setup

Get Rube MCP: Add

https://rube.app/mcp

as an MCP server in your client configuration. No API keys needed — just add the endpoint and it works.

Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming
```
RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS
```
responds
Call
```
RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS
```
with toolkit
```
canva
```
If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to complete Canva OAuth
Confirm connection status shows ACTIVE before running any workflows

Core Workflows

1. List and Browse Designs

When to use: User wants to find existing designs or browse their Canva library

Tool sequence:

```
CANVA_LIST_USER_DESIGNS
```
- List all designs with optional filters [Required]

Key parameters:

```
query
```
: Search term to filter designs by name
```
continuation
```
: Pagination token from previous response
```
ownership
```
: Filter by 'owned', 'shared', or 'any'
```
sort_by
```
: Sort field (e.g., 'modified_at', 'title')

Pitfalls:

Results are paginated; follow
```
continuation
```
token until absent
Deleted designs may still appear briefly; check design status
Search is substring-based, not fuzzy matching

2. Create and Design

When to use: User wants to create a new Canva design from scratch or from a template

Tool sequence:

CANVA_ACCESS_USER_SPECIFIC_BRAND_TEMPLATES_LIST

- Browse available brand templates [Optional]

CANVA_CREATE_CANVA_DESIGN_WITH_OPTIONAL_ASSET

- Create a new design [Required]

Key parameters:

```
design_type
```
: Type of design (e.g., 'Presentation', 'Poster', 'SocialMedia')
```
title
```
: Name for the new design
```
asset_id
```
: Optional asset to include in the design
```
width
```
/
```
height
```
: Custom dimensions in pixels

Pitfalls:

Design type must match Canva's predefined types exactly
Custom dimensions have minimum and maximum limits
Asset must be uploaded first via CANVA_CREATE_ASSET_UPLOAD_JOB before referencing

3. Upload Assets

When to use: User wants to upload images or files to Canva for use in designs

Tool sequence:

```
CANVA_CREATE_ASSET_UPLOAD_JOB
```
- Initiate the asset upload [Required]
```
CANVA_FETCH_ASSET_UPLOAD_JOB_STATUS
```
- Poll until upload completes [Required]

Key parameters:

```
name
```
: Display name for the asset
```
url
```
: Public URL of the file to upload (for URL-based uploads)
```
job_id
```
: Upload job ID returned from step 1 (for status polling)

Pitfalls:

Upload is asynchronous; you MUST poll the job status until it completes
Supported formats include PNG, JPG, SVG, MP4, GIF
File size limits apply; large files may take longer to process
The
```
job_id
```
from CREATE returns the ID needed for status polling
Status values: 'in_progress', 'success', 'failed'

4. Export Designs

When to use: User wants to download or export a Canva design as PDF, PNG, or other format

Tool sequence:

```
CANVA_LIST_USER_DESIGNS
```
- Find the design to export [Prerequisite]
```
CANVA_CREATE_CANVA_DESIGN_EXPORT_JOB
```
- Start the export process [Required]
```
CANVA_GET_DESIGN_EXPORT_JOB_RESULT
```
- Poll until export completes and get download URL [Required]

Key parameters:

```
design_id
```
: ID of the design to export
```
format
```
: Export format ('pdf', 'png', 'jpg', 'svg', 'mp4', 'gif', 'pptx')
```
pages
```
: Specific page numbers to export (array)
```
quality
```
: Export quality ('regular', 'high')
```
job_id
```
: Export job ID for polling status

Pitfalls:

Export is asynchronous; you MUST poll the job result until it completes
Download URLs from completed exports expire after a limited time
Large designs with many pages take longer to export
Not all formats support all design types (e.g., MP4 only for animations)
Poll interval: wait 2-3 seconds between status checks

5. Organize with Folders

When to use: User wants to create folders or organize designs into folders

Tool sequence:

```
CANVA_POST_FOLDERS
```
- Create a new folder [Required]
```
CANVA_MOVE_ITEM_TO_SPECIFIED_FOLDER
```
- Move designs into folders [Optional]

Key parameters:

```
name
```
: Folder name
```
parent_folder_id
```
: Parent folder for nested organization
```
item_id
```
: ID of the design or asset to move
```
folder_id
```
: Target folder ID

Pitfalls:

Folder names must be unique within the same parent folder
Moving items between folders updates their location immediately
Root-level folders have no parent_folder_id

6. Autofill from Brand Templates

When to use: User wants to generate designs by filling brand template placeholders with data

Tool sequence:

CANVA_ACCESS_USER_SPECIFIC_BRAND_TEMPLATES_LIST

- List available brand templates [Required]

CANVA_INITIATE_CANVA_DESIGN_AUTOFILL_JOB

- Start autofill with data [Required]

Key parameters:

```
brand_template_id
```
: ID of the brand template to use
```
title
```
: Title for the generated design
```
data
```
: Key-value mapping of placeholder names to replacement values

Pitfalls:

Template placeholders must match exactly (case-sensitive)
Autofill is asynchronous; poll for completion
Only brand templates support autofill, not regular designs
Data values must match the expected type for each placeholder (text, image URL)

Common Patterns

Async Job Pattern

Many Canva operations are asynchronous:

1. Initiate job (upload, export, autofill) -> get job_id
2. Poll status endpoint with job_id every 2-3 seconds
3. Check for 'success' or 'failed' status
4. On success, extract result (asset_id, download_url, design_id)

ID Resolution

Design name -> Design ID:

1. Call CANVA_LIST_USER_DESIGNS with query=design_name
2. Find matching design in results
3. Extract id field

Brand template name -> Template ID:

1. Call CANVA_ACCESS_USER_SPECIFIC_BRAND_TEMPLATES_LIST
2. Find template by name
3. Extract brand_template_id

Pagination

Check response for
```
continuation
```
token
Pass token in next request's
```
continuation
```
parameter
Continue until
```
continuation
```
is absent or empty

Known Pitfalls

Async Operations:

Uploads, exports, and autofills are all asynchronous
Always poll job status; do not assume immediate completion
Download URLs from exports expire; use them promptly

Asset Management:

Assets must be uploaded before they can be used in designs
Upload job must reach 'success' status before the asset_id is valid
Supported formats vary; check Canva documentation for current limits

Rate Limits:

Canva API has rate limits per endpoint
Implement exponential backoff for bulk operations
Batch operations where possible to reduce API calls

Response Parsing:

Response data may be nested under
```
data
```
key
Job status responses include different fields based on completion state
Parse defensively with fallbacks for optional fields

Quick Reference

Task	Tool Slug	Key Params
List designs	CANVA_LIST_USER_DESIGNS	query, continuation
Create design	CANVA_CREATE_CANVA_DESIGN_WITH_OPTIONAL_ASSET	design_type, title
Upload asset	CANVA_CREATE_ASSET_UPLOAD_JOB	name, url
Check upload	CANVA_FETCH_ASSET_UPLOAD_JOB_STATUS	job_id
Export design	CANVA_CREATE_CANVA_DESIGN_EXPORT_JOB	design_id, format
Get export	CANVA_GET_DESIGN_EXPORT_JOB_RESULT	job_id
Create folder	CANVA_POST_FOLDERS	name, parent_folder_id
Move to folder	CANVA_MOVE_ITEM_TO_SPECIFIED_FOLDER	item_id, folder_id
List templates	CANVA_ACCESS_USER_SPECIFIC_BRAND_TEMPLATES_LIST	(none)
Autofill template	CANVA_INITIATE_CANVA_DESIGN_AUTOFILL_JOB	brand_template_id, data

canva-automation

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Canva Automation via Rube MCP

Prerequisites

Setup

Core Workflows

1. List and Browse Designs

2. Create and Design

3. Upload Assets

4. Export Designs

5. Organize with Folders

6. Autofill from Brand Templates

Common Patterns

Async Job Pattern

ID Resolution

Pagination

Known Pitfalls

Quick Reference