Canvas automated backups - Automated course exports

[giddyg]

I have to make full backup of the Canvas LMS, so I'll backup canvas code (excluding logs), database, and I'd like to backup individual courses also. Is there a way to export canvas course using command line in Linux? I'd like to be able to export courses for example as common cartridge files using terminal, so I could automate the process. And sometimes it's easier to restore a course than to do restoration of the full site.

[levi_magnus · Accepted solution]

Hi giddyg‌,

You can export courses through the Canvas LMS REST API. Using the Content Exports API, you can export a course using the following endpoint: POST /api/v1/courses/:course_id/content_exports . You can track the progress of the export with the Progress API (progress is linked to with the progress_url value of the ContentExport object) and when it is complete use the show content endpoint, GET /api/v1/courses/:course_id/content_exports/:id, to retrieve a download URL for the exported content.

[giddyg]

Thank you  @levi_magnus ‌! It's unfortunate that I can't do this through the command line. This is more a "pull" approach, and I'd need something like "export through command line and push to backup server" approach

[marqpdx]

This actually could happen through the command line.

You just write a simple shell script and run it from the command line. You'd use `curl` to call the REST API, and then `curl` again to download the file, then you'd have the file on the machine where the script is called, then you can `ftp` it from there to where you want. would only be a few lines of code i suppose.

Was thinking of this myself. Should work

[giddyg]

That's actually a very good idea. Thank you! Although, It's shame that there's no command line utility made by instructure for that. Moodle has such a tool for a long time.