Windows Setup Guide
Installing Canvas Downloader on Windows takes under a minute. Pick either install method below, because both give you the exact same app, then log in and you are going.
A Microsoft Store Easiest - no warnings
The Store build installs like any other app: no SmartScreen warning, automatic updates, and clean uninstall via Settings → Apps.
B Direct installer (.exe)
- Download the installer from the Downloads & Releases page.
- Run it. When Windows SmartScreen appears, click "More info" → "Run anyway".
- Follow the installer. It adds a Start Menu shortcut and uninstalls cleanly via Settings → Apps.
The warning appears only because the app is a free, unsigned solo project, and the full source code is public on GitHub. You only see it once.
C Log in to Canvas
The app opens on a login screen asking for two things: your school's Canvas address, and a personal access token you create yourself. Two minutes, once.
- For the address, use Find your institution beside the field and start typing your school's name, and the address fills itself in. Not listed? Paste it yourself; every Canvas works, listed or not.
- For the token, click Get a token beside the token field. It opens your own Canvas token page, where Approved Integrations → + New Access Token generates one in about 30 seconds.
- Copy it straight away, because Canvas shows it only once, and paste it in. The app then remembers it in Windows Credential Manager, so you are not typing it again. Canvas now puts a time limit on tokens, so it will ask you for a fresh one when yours runs out. Wondering what a token actually gives away? Here is what it can and cannot do.
Want it in pictures? The step-by-step walkthrough in the guide has the whole thing, clip included.