One command for the setup every Odoo task repeats

The situation#

Working an Odoo task starts with a database, a branch, a version and a set of modules, and assembling those is the same work every time. Developers, partners and the Odoo Professional Services teams each carried their own scripts for it, and each set broke in its own way.

What I built#

odev makes that assembly a command. Local and remote databases, several projects at once, and the recurring chores of developing against the framework all sit behind one command line. A plugin system carries what is too specific for the core, so a team can extend the tool without forking it.

Two constraints shaped it. There was no budget, and most of the early work happened outside working hours. The databases it touches hold customer data, so what the tool may read, copy or send was constrained from the start rather than fixed once it had users.

I started it alone in 2021. Developers at Odoo have joined since, and I remain its main contributor.

Where to check it#

The code, its history and its plugins are public on GitHub.

At Odoo Experience 2026, members of Odoo's Professional Services technical team presented the tool in a talk titled "Odev meets AI: automating Odoo development end to end". The recording is public, and the slide crediting the contributors is at 40:05. It is their talk about a tool they use every day, which says more about it than any talk I could give.