odoo-best-practices

A Codex skill that applies Odoo 18-20 best practices for module architecture, ORM patterns, XML views, OWL components, security, testing, and performance. Content is aligned with the official Odoo 20.0 documentation.

What It Covers

Reference	Topics
module-architecture.md	Directory structure, __manifest__.py, init chain, _inherit vs _name, migration scripts, hooks
orm-patterns.md	Model definition, computed fields, models.Constraint / models.Index, @api.onchange, @api.ondelete, recordsets, Domain safety, index types
views-owl.md	XML views (form/list/search), view inheritance, OWL 2 components, actions and menus
security-i18n.md	ACLs, record rules, security groups, multi-company, public vs private methods, SQL injection, XSS, translations
testing-performance.md	TransactionCase, HttpCase, tours, batch operations, _read_group, profiling
dev-environment.md	Source install, odoo-bin options, --dev features, config file, scaffolding, running the server
official-docs.md	Curated official documentation index (setup, tutorials, reference, howtos, guidelines)
external-api.md	JSON-RPC / XML-RPC / HTTP routes, auth, rate limits, webhooks
frontend-architecture.md	Assets, bundles, services, registries, systray, client actions
testing.md	Test rig design, real-browser verification (Playwright), regression discipline
project-roadmap.md	Phase-by-phase delivery route for real projects: baseline, modeling, state machines, interaction, gates, release

Install

With npx skills:

npx skills add MercatorProj/odoo-best-practices

Or copy manually into your Codex skills directory:

git clone https://github.com/MercatorProj/odoo-best-practices.git "$CODEX_HOME/skills/odoo-best-practices"

Usage

The skill activates automatically when Codex detects an Odoo development task (module creation, model/view/security work, debugging, code review). You can also invoke it explicitly with $odoo-best-practices.

SKILL.md loads core rules and routes to the relevant reference file based on the task area. You do not need to read all references for every task.

Requirements

• Codex CLI or any agent that supports the Codex skill format
• Odoo 18, 19, or 20 development context (defaults to Odoo 20 conventions)

License

MIT

Design Philosophy

The rules in this skill codify Odoo's design philosophy:

1. Everything is a module — even Enterprise features are modules stacked on Community.
2. Data is the program — views, actions, menus, and security are database records installed from XML data files.
3. Extend, never modify — inherit models, views, and templates; keep the core pristine for painless upgrades.
4. XML IDs are the glue — module.xml_id is the global reference namespace; depends works like a system package manager.
5. Convention over configuration — names map automatically to tables, columns, and UI.
6. The ORM is the API and the security boundary — public methods are RPC-exposed; raw SQL bypasses security.
7. Integrated by design — one database, shared base models; OWL is the frontend direction.

Official Documentation

• Odoo 20.0 developer docs: https://www.odoo.com/documentation/20.0/developer.html
• Setup guide: https://www.odoo.com/documentation/20.0/developer/tutorials/setup_guide.html
• CLI reference: https://www.odoo.com/documentation/20.0/developer/reference/cli.html
• Source install (Python 3.12+): https://www.odoo.com/documentation/20.0/administration/on_premise/source.html
• Coding guidelines (XML ID naming): https://github.com/odoo/documentation/blob/20.0/content/contributing/development/coding_guidelines.rst
• Full curated index: references/official-docs.md