odoo-nix
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Getting started

Scaffold a new Odoo project with odoo-nix, start the development shell and provision your first database.

Updated
Tags
  • quick-start
  • devenv
  • odoo
On this page

This page takes you from an empty directory to a running Odoo database. If you already have an Odoo tree, read Migrate an existing tree first and come back for the shell steps.

Prerequisites

You need:

  • Nix with flakes enabled.

  • direnv, so the shell loads when you enter the directory. Without it, nix develop --no-pure-eval does the same job by hand.

  • git, because OCB and the module repositories are git submodules.

The generated flake declares the devenv.cachix.org binary cache, so Nix may ask you to trust it the first time you enter the shell.

Keep --no-pure-eval when you load the shell by hand. The generated .envrc ends with use flake . --no-pure-eval: the shell reads the checkout's path and the environment while it evaluates (per-project ports, decrypting secrets).

1. Scaffold a project

Run the scaffolder from the directory where the project should live. With a terminal and no flags it prompts for an Odoo series, optional OCA bundles and modules, and a directory name.

nix run github:Avunu/odoo-nix

For a scripted run, pass everything as flags. Without a terminal it never prompts, so --version is required.

nix run github:Avunu/odoo-nix -- \
  --version 18.0 --bundles base \
  --modules account_financial_report \
  --name acme --db acme acme

OCA software is opt-in: leave out --bundles and --modules and you get plain Odoo. The scaffolder writes the wrapper flake.nix, adds OCB and the module repositories as git submodules on the series' branch, records the modules in modules.txt, generates pyproject.toml and runs uv lock. See Create a new project for the presets, the module picker and what it writes.

2. Enter the shell

cd acme
direnv allow

The first entry builds the Python environment, so it takes a while. When it finishes, a banner prints the project name, the Odoo series, the server's and Mailpit's addresses and the most useful commands.

3. Start the services

devenv up

devenv up runs PostgreSQL, Mailpit and the Odoo server (odoo-bin --dev=all, threaded). Leave it running in this terminal. Every port is a base plus an offset hashed from the project's name, so several projects run at once. The development shell has the details.

4. Provision the database

In a second terminal, in the same directory:

odoo db provision

It creates the database named by settings.dbName (the --db you scaffolded with) and installs base and every module in modules.txt. Run it again later and it migrates the database instead of reinstalling, so it is safe to repeat.

5. Open Odoo

Open the server address the banner printed and log in with Odoo's defaults for a new database, admin and admin. Mail the database sends lands in Mailpit, whose address is in the banner too.

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