Odoo Installation & Setup for Development

System Requirements

Ubuntu/Debian Installation

This is the recommended approach for development. Follow these steps in order:

Step 1 — Install system dependencies

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y python3-pip python3-dev python3-venv \
    libxml2-dev libxslt1-dev libldap2-dev libsasl2-dev \
    libtiff5-dev libjpeg8-dev libopenjp2-7-dev zlib1g-dev \
    libfreetype6-dev liblcms2-dev libwebp-dev libharfbuzz-dev \
    libfribidi-dev libxcb1-dev libpq-dev git curl

Step 2 — Install PostgreSQL

sudo apt install -y postgresql postgresql-contrib
sudo systemctl start postgresql
sudo systemctl enable postgresql
# Create Odoo database user (same as your Linux username)
sudo -u postgres createuser -s $USER

Step 3 — Clone Odoo 19

git clone https://github.com/odoo/odoo.git --depth=1 --branch=19.0 ~/odoo19

The --depth=1 flag clones only the latest commit, which is much faster than a full history clone. The --branch=19.0 flag checks out the Odoo 19 branch.

Step 4 — Create virtual environment and install dependencies

python3 -m venv ~/odoo19-venv
source ~/odoo19-venv/bin/activate
pip install -r ~/odoo19/requirements.txt

Step 5 — Create config file

Create ~/odoo19.conf with the following content (replace your_username with your Linux username):

[options]
db_host = localhost
db_port = 5432
db_user = your_username
db_password = False
addons_path = /home/your_username/odoo19/addons,/home/your_username/custom_addons
logfile = /var/log/odoo/odoo.log

Step 6 — Create custom addons directory

mkdir ~/custom_addons

Step 7 — Start Odoo

source ~/odoo19-venv/bin/activate
python ~/odoo19/odoo-bin -c ~/odoo19.conf
# Open http://localhost:8069 in your browser

Docker Setup (Windows / macOS)

If you're on Windows or macOS, Docker is the easiest path to a working Odoo environment. Create a docker-compose.yml file:

# docker-compose.yml
version: '3.8'
services:
  db:
    image: postgres:16
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: odoo
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: odoo
      POSTGRES_DB: postgres
    volumes:
      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data

  odoo:
    image: odoo:19.0
    depends_on:
      - db
    ports:
      - "8069:8069"
    environment:
      HOST: db
      USER: odoo
      PASSWORD: odoo
    volumes:
      - odoo-data:/var/lib/odoo
      - ./custom_addons:/mnt/extra-addons

volumes:
  pgdata:
  odoo-data:

mkdir custom_addons
docker-compose up -d
# Open http://localhost:8069 in your browser

The custom_addons directory is mounted into the container at /mnt/extra-addons. Any module you place there will be available in Odoo after updating the app list.

VS Code Setup

VS Code is the recommended editor for Odoo development. Install these extensions:

• Python (Microsoft) — core Python language support
• Pylance (Microsoft) — type checking and autocompletion
• XML (Red Hat) — XML formatting and validation
• Odoo Snippets — code snippets for common Odoo patterns

Configure your workspace settings in .vscode/settings.json:

{
  "python.defaultInterpreterPath": "~/odoo19-venv/bin/python",
  "python.analysis.extraPaths": [
    "~/odoo19"
  ],
  "editor.formatOnSave": true,
  "[python]": {
    "editor.defaultFormatter": "ms-python.black-formatter"
  }
}

Tip: Add ~/odoo19 to your VS Code workspace (File → Add Folder to Workspace). This lets Pylance index Odoo's source code, giving you autocompletion for all Odoo models, fields, and methods as you write custom code.

Creating Your First Database

Once Odoo is running at http://localhost:8069, you'll see the database manager page. Fill in the fields:

1. Master Password — set a password (it protects database management)
2. Database Name — e.g. odoo_dev
3. Email — your admin login email
4. Password — your admin user password
5. Language — select English
6. Country — select yours
7. Demo Data — check this (useful for learning — gives you sample customers, products, orders)

Click Create database and wait ~2 minutes for initialisation. You'll be redirected to the Odoo main menu — your development environment is ready.

Activating Developer Mode

Developer mode unlocks technical tools that are essential for module development:

• Shows the Technical menu under Settings (access to views, models, actions, sequences, etc.)
• Enables direct view editing from the UI
• Shows field technical names on hover
• Enables the Assets debug mode for frontend debugging

To activate:

• Method 1: Settings → General Settings → scroll to Developer Tools section → click Activate developer mode
• Method 2: Append ?debug=1 to any URL, e.g. http://localhost:8069/web?debug=1
• Method 3: Append ?debug=assets for full asset debugging (unminified JS)