canva-automation - Agent Skills

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
Poll status endpoint with job_id every 2-3 seconds

Check for 'success' or 'failed' status

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
Find matching design in results

Extract id field

Brand template name -> Template ID:

1. Call CANVA_ACCESS_USER_SPECIFIC_BRAND_TEMPLATES_LIST
Find template by name

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