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Pawtograder

pawtograder.com

Free plan WebSelf-hosted
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Spec score 7.6 #12 of 22 in Rubric Software

What it is

Pawtograder combines autograding, manual grading, office hours, discussion, a gradebook, and analytics for computer science courses. Each commit can trigger tests through GitHub Actions, with results shown by test in the grading interface. Rubrics support additive, deductive, and multi-level criteria, line-level annotations, and separate scoring for group members. The gradebook includes MathJS expression columns, drop-lowest calculations, CSV import, and a student what-if mode. Office hours queues support text, video, and screen sharing, and can show linked submissions and failing tests. Discussions can surface relevant threads for known errors and allow public or staff-only posts. Calendar feeds and Discord channel mirroring cover course events; LTI 1.3 integrations with Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace, and Moodle are listed as roadmap items. Optional AI-generated test hints and an MCP server for compatible AI clients are also listed. Instructors can use the project-hosted community instance or self-host on Kubernetes with Helm charts. The project is GPLv3 open source. The free community instance is for evaluation; ongoing use at scale requires contacting the project.

Spec sheet

Purpose
Pawtograder combines autograding, manual grading, office hours, discussion, a gradebook, and analytics for computer science courses.Read 7 Oct 2026 · pawtograder.com
Integrations
The site lists calendar feeds and Discord channel mirroring for course events; it describes LTI 1.3 integrations with Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace, and Moodle as roadmap items.Read 7 Oct 2026 · pawtograder.com
License
The platform is open source under the GPLv3 license, and the site links its code to github.com/pawtograder/platform.Read 7 Oct 2026 · pawtograder.com
AI tools
An MCP server provides context about a student's error, queue request, or discussion thread to MCP-compatible AI clients, and AI-generated test hints are optional.Read 7 Oct 2026 · pawtograder.com
Audience and support
The site describes Pawtograder as built for instructors, teaching assistants, and students, and offers Discord community support and demo accounts by request.Read 7 Oct 2026 · pawtograder.com
Autograding
Every commit can trigger tests through GitHub Actions, with per-test results shown in the grading interface.Read 7 Oct 2026 · pawtograder.com
Data control
The site says self-hosting keeps data on the institution's infrastructure and can fit FERPA, GDPR, and provincial data-residency requirements.Read 7 Oct 2026 · pawtograder.com
Discussion
The discussion board can surface relevant threads when students encounter known errors and supports public or staff-only posts.Read 7 Oct 2026 · pawtograder.com
Gradebook
The gradebook supports MathJS expression columns, drop-lowest calculations, CSV import, and a student what-if mode.Read 7 Oct 2026 · pawtograder.com
Hosting
Instructors can use the project-hosted community instance or self-host on Kubernetes using Helm charts.Read 7 Oct 2026 · pawtograder.com
Known limit
The current repository model assumes one repository per assignment; multi-assignment repositories and assignments without repositories are listed as unbuilt requests.Read 7 Oct 2026 · pawtograder.com
Office hours
Office hours queues support text, video, and screen sharing, and can surface a student's linked submission and failing test.Read 7 Oct 2026 · pawtograder.com
Rubrics
Rubrics support additive, deductive, and multi-level criteria, line-level annotations, and per-member scoring for group submissions.Read 7 Oct 2026 · pawtograder.com
Runtime requirement
Pawtograder requires the institution to provide GitHub Actions runners, either GitHub-hosted or self-hosted.Read 7 Oct 2026 · pawtograder.com

Plans and prices

Community instance Free Free for instructors evaluating Pawtograder; talk to us about ongoing use at scale. Evaluation use; ongoing use at scale requires contacting the project Read 7 Oct 2026 · pawtograder.com

Every Pawtograder plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Per-commit GitHub Actions testing shows per-test results
  • Rubrics allow line annotations and per-member scoring
  • Office hours support text, video, and screen sharing
  • Open source under GPLv3

Limits

  • Institution must provide GitHub Actions runners
  • Repository model assumes one repository per assignment
  • LTI 1.3 integrations are roadmap items
  • Free community instance is for evaluation

Who it suits

It suits instructors, teaching assistants, and students in computer science courses who need grading, course discussion, and office-hours workflows. Institutions wanting control over where data is held can self-host on their infrastructure.

Verdict

Pawtograder brings course grading and student support workflows together, with a project-hosted or self-hosted option. Consider the runner requirement, current repository model, and roadmap status of LMS integrations before adopting it.

Where Specifiction places it

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