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Local Odoo Development Setup on macOS

Prerequisites​

  • Docker Desktop for Mac (installed and running)
  • Homebrew
  • Access to the Odoo project repository

1. Install zodoo​

brew install git pipx rsync
bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zebroo-tools/zodoo/refs/heads/main/install.sh)

By default this uses the Python that ships with Xcode. If your Odoo version needs a newer Python (recommended for newer releases that drop 3.9 support), reinstall pointing at a pyenv-managed interpreter instead:

pipx reinstall wodoo --python ~/.pyenv/versions/3.12.13/bin/python3

2. Clone the project repository​

git clone <github-url> ~/projects/my-odoo
cd ~/projects/my-odoo

3. Configure for local development​

odoo setting DEVMODE=1       # neutralizes restored databases, resets passwords
odoo setting ODOO_DEMO=1     # load demo data (optional)
odoo reload
odoo build

4. Initialize or restore database​

Fresh database with demo data:

odoo -f db reset

Restore a customer database:

odoo -f restore odoo-db   # interactive file picker
odoo update               # update all modules after restore

5. Start​

odoo up -d
odoo setup status         # shows URL and port

Open: http://localhost:<PROXY_PORT>

Applying code changes​

Whenever you modify module code (Python, XML views, security rules, data files), the running Odoo instance won't reflect those changes until the modules are reloaded into the database:

odoo update
# Installs/updates the modules listed under `install` in the project MANIFEST.

The module you're working on must be listed under install in the project's MANIFEST — otherwise odoo update skips it and your changes won't show up.

Tips:

  • odoo update <module_name> updates a single module faster than a full update.
  • Pure Python changes are often picked up live by running in dev mode (odoo dev, which combines build + up + watch) without a full update, but structural changes (models, fields, views, security, data) always need odoo update.
  • If a change still doesn't show up, hard-refresh the browser (⌘ + Shift + R) to bypass Odoo's asset cache.

macOS-specific settings​

On macOS, the postgres port is exposed on the host so you can connect from tools like TablePlus:

odoo setup next-port      # also sets HOST_DB_PORT

Connect to postgres:

  • Host: localhost
  • Port: <HOST_DB_PORT>
  • User/DB: from odoo setup status

Troubleshooting on macOS​

rsync errors​

brew install rsync

Python version issues​

odoo setting ODOO_PYTHON_VERSION=3.12
odoo reload && odoo build

Previous wodoo installation​

If you had wodoo installed before:

rm -Rf ~/.odoo/images
bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zebroo-tools/zodoo/refs/heads/main/install.sh)

Port already in use​

odoo setup next-port
odoo reload
odoo up -d

Broken CSS/JS after update​

odoo setup remove-web-assets
# then log in as admin to regenerate assets

Docker Desktop not responding​

Restart Docker Desktop. Then:

odoo down
odoo up -d