Illinois courses · your AI assistant

Ask about Illinois courses.
Get answers with sources.

Connect your desktop AI assistant to official Illinois course information. Ask about course descriptions, credits, restrictions and class schedules in everyday language.

Connect your AI assistantView the source ↗

From Vishal Sachdev, creator of Canvas MCP.

Free & open sourceNo university login neededRuns on your computerMIT licensed

Your assistant can look up the source.

UIUC Course MCP is a small connector you install on your computer. It lets an AI assistant retrieve public information from Illinois Course Explorer when you ask a question, instead of relying only on what the AI remembers.

What does MCP mean? Model Context Protocol is an open standard for connecting AI assistants to outside tools and data. You do not need to learn it to use this project: install the connector, connect a supported assistant, and start asking questions.

Use a desktop assistant that supports local connectors, such as Claude Desktop. This release does not connect directly to ChatGPT or Claude in a web browser or on your phone. Setup currently involves terminal commands; a double-click installer is not available yet.

What can you ask?

01 / SEARCH

Find offered courses

“Find BADM courses with database in the title for fall 2026.” Search within a subject and semester.

02 / DETAILS

Read the full description

“What does BADM 554 cover, and what restrictions are listed?” Read the description and credit information.

03 / SECTIONS

Inspect the schedule

“When do the fall 2026 BADM 554 sections meet, and who teaches them?” See meeting times, locations and instructors.

Try asking: “Find database courses in BADM for fall 2026, then show BADM 554's restrictions and all section meetings.”

Useful before the semester starts.

For students

Explore courses in a subject, read what they cover and inspect section meeting times before making a shortlist. Check restrictions with your advisor; this connector does not determine whether you are eligible or register you for classes.

For instructors and advisors

Look up published course descriptions and term-specific sections during a conversation. Answers can include links to the official source so you can verify the details.

Connect your assistant in three steps.

  1. Choose a supported desktop assistant. Claude Desktop is one option. Other local clients need support for MCP connectors.
  2. Install the connector. Follow one of the installation options below. You will need Python 3.11+, Git and uv, a Python installation tool.
  3. Add it to your assistant and restart. Use the configuration below, then ask a question that includes a subject, year and semester.

The connector is free and needs no Illinois account or API key. Your AI assistant may have its own account or subscription requirements.

Installation option 1: run directly from GitHub

Try it without downloading the repository yourself.

With Python 3.11+, Git and uv installed, point your local MCP client at this pinned source command:

uvx --from git+https://github.com/vishalsachdev/uiuc-course-mcp@9778a866e6023bddfd41d6c8cf74e907f08ec106 uiuc-course-mcp

uv installs the server in an isolated cached environment. The command waits for an MCP client over stdio. See the copy-ready client configuration. For exact locked dependencies or development, use the local checkout below.

Installation option 2: download the project and use locked dependencies

Install from a local checkout.

1. Install

Requires Python 3.11+ and uv. Clone or download the repository, then run:

git clone https://github.com/vishalsachdev/uiuc-course-mcp.git
cd uiuc-course-mcp
uv sync --locked

The lockfile makes dependency installation reproducible.

2. Connect your client

Use the absolute executable path in your Claude Desktop configuration. On Windows, use .venv\Scripts\uiuc-course-mcp.exe.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "uiuc-courses": {
      "command": "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/uiuc-course-mcp/.venv/bin/uiuc-course-mcp"
    }
  }
}

For Codex CLI:

codex mcp add uiuc-courses -- \
  /ABSOLUTE/PATH/uiuc-course-mcp/.venv/bin/uiuc-course-mcp

Restart your client after configuration. See the README for tool arguments, pagination and development commands.

This page explains how to install the connector; it does not run course searches itself. Searches happen in your AI assistant after setup.

Check your connection. Keep updates deliberate.

After restarting your assistant, check that it lists search_courses, get_course_details and list_course_sections. Ask “Find BADM courses with database in the title for fall 2026,” then request BADM 554's description and section meetings with source links.

The GitHub installation command pins a reviewed version. It does not automatically update when you restart. Save your old configuration, replace the full commit after @ with a reviewed newer commit, and restart. Restore the old commit to roll back. For a local checkout, update the source and run uv sync --locked before restarting.

Update and rollback instructions · Troubleshoot setup · What has been tested

The pinned installation and all three tools were independently checked through a Python MCP client on Linux on October 10, 2026. Native Claude Desktop and Codex CLI checks on the maintainer's computer remain unverified.

Official data.
Clear limits.

Data comes directly from Illinois Course Explorer. Answers can include official source links and when the information was retrieved. A request for one semester never silently switches to another.

Search is scoped to one subject's offered course numbers and titles. This initial release does not perform semantic or campus-wide search.

Understand what stays local

The connector runs on your computer. Retrieved course information is sent to your chosen AI assistant, whose own data policies apply.

  • Public course data is kept in memory for five minutes to avoid repeat downloads; restarting clears it.
  • The connector does not collect usage analytics or store your search history.
  • It reads public information and cannot register you for classes or access your private student records.
  • Seat availability is not provided. Verify registration decisions with Course Explorer.
  • Restrictions are shown as published; the connector does not decide eligibility.

Discover courses. Then work inside Canvas.

UIUC Course MCP

Search public Illinois offerings and inspect course descriptions, restrictions and section schedules. No account required.

Set up course discovery →

Canvas MCP

Already enrolled or teaching? Use the companion project for assignments, deadlines, course content and other supported Canvas workflows. Canvas access requires its own credentials and permissions.

Explore Canvas MCP →

Install each connector separately in a supported assistant. They do not automatically link your accounts or exchange data.

Help shape what comes next.

Have a course-discovery idea, found a bug, or want to improve the project? Feature requests and pull requests are welcome on GitHub.

Request a feature ↗Submit a pull request ↗

Report a bug · Contribution guide

For feature requests, describe the task you want to accomplish and an example of the result you need. For larger changes, open an issue first to discuss the approach. Pull requests should explain the change and include relevant checks; see the README for development commands.

Built independently. Inspired by good work.

Inspired by Anteater-MCP by Kazuha Mo / KKazuhaK, which demonstrates useful course-discovery workflows for UC Irvine. UIUC Course MCP is an independent implementation using Illinois Course Explorer data; it does not incorporate Anteater-MCP source code.