Set up your Odoo environment

Assista IDE downloads Odoo, writes its configuration file, creates a Python virtual environment and prepares debugging, so you can run a working Odoo project without doing each step by hand. It works with Odoo 11 to 20.

What you can do

• Download any Odoo version from 11 to 20 into a folder you choose.
• Create or edit an odoo.conf file in a form instead of by hand.
• Create a virtual environment with the Python packages your Odoo version needs.
• Add a ready-made debug configuration, then run Odoo from the title bar.
• Open an Odoo project you already have.

Get started

When you start Assista IDE with no folder open, the setup wizard guides you through every step on this page. You can repeat any step later from Odoo Settings.

Install the prerequisites first

Before you set up a project, install Git, a supported Python, PostgreSQL and the system libraries Odoo needs. See Prerequisites.

Use Odoo Settings

Select the Odoo icon in the activity bar to open Odoo Settings. It has four sections. Each section is a form with one button at the bottom. The same commands are in the Command Palette: Odoo: Pull Odoo Source Code, Odoo: Create Odoo Config File and Odoo: Config Odoo Debugger.

Section	Icon tooltip	Use it to
Create Odoo Configuration	Create Odoo Conf File	Create or edit an odoo.conf file
Configure Odoo Debugger	Configure Debugger	Set the paths that Run and debugging use
Pull Odoo Source Code	Pull Odoo Source Code	Download Odoo, and optionally create its virtual environment
Setup Only Python Virtual Environment	Virtual Environment Only Setup	Create a virtual environment for Odoo code you already have

One project at a time

Odoo Settings works on the first folder open in your workspace. To work with several Odoo versions, keep each in its own folder, for example Odoo18 and Odoo19, each with its own .venv.

Download Odoo

Use Pull Odoo Source Code to download Odoo and set it up in one step.

Field	What to enter
Odoo Version	A version from 11.0 to 20.0. Required
Target Directory	The folder that will hold the new Odoo folder. Required. Select the folder icon to browse. If you leave it empty, Assista uses your open workspace folder
Project Name	The name of the folder to create. Leave it blank to use Odoo plus the major version, for example Odoo20. Names that contain / or \, or are . or .., are not accepted
Setup virtual environment	On by default. Creates the Python environment after the download. See Create a virtual environment
Open folder in Assista after pull	On by default. Opens the new project in the current window when setup finishes

Select Setup Odoo Environment.

• Odoo downloads as a shallow copy of the version's branch from the official Odoo repository, so it is much smaller than the full history. Git must be installed, and you need an internet connection.
• A notification shows progress ("Downloading Odoo source code: 40%") and a Cancel button.
• If the destination folder exists, Assista asks whether to replace it and then asks you to confirm the permanent deletion. Replacing deletes the old folder. If you decline, nothing changes.
• If the download stalls for 40 seconds, or takes longer than 15 minutes, it stops with a message that asks you to check your connection.
• If Open folder in Assista after pull is off, a notification offers Open in Workspace Folder when setup finishes.
• Pull does not create odoo.conf or a debug configuration. Do those in the next sections.
• Pull does not download Odoo Enterprise. Clone it yourself and add its folder to the Addons Path.

Create the Odoo configuration

Use Create Odoo Configuration to write odoo.conf.

1. Under Odoo Configuration File, select an existing .conf file, or Create new Odoo conf file… and type a name. The default is odoo.conf. The list shows .conf files in your project folder and one level below it.
2. Fill in the fields below.
3. Select Save Configuration. The file opens in an editor.

Field	Default	Notes
Admin Password	admin	The master password for database operations. A blank value is saved as admin. Change it before exposing Odoo
Database Name	None	Optional. Leave it blank and Odoo shows its database manager
Database Port	5432	1 to 65535
HTTP Port	8069	Shown as XML-RPC Port for Odoo versions before 19. Assista detects the version from your Odoo source
Database Host	localhost	Required
Database User	odoo	Required. See Create the odoo database user
Database Password	None	Required. The password you chose for the database user
Addons Path	None	Folders with your own modules, separated by commas, for example ./custom_addons,../enterprise

Open Advanced Fields for more options. All of them are optional, and a blank field is left out of the file.

Field	Example
Log File	/var/log/odoo/odoo.log
Proxy Mode	True or False
Max Cron Threads	2
Workers	0
Limit Memory Soft (MB)	2048
Limit Memory Hard (MB)	2560
Enable debug logging	Adds log_level = debug

Edit an existing file. When you pick an existing file, Assista fills the form from it and updates it in place. Comments, ordering and settings the form does not know about are kept. Clearing a field removes that line.

Replace a file. If you create a new file with a name that already exists, Assista asks you to confirm. Replacing keeps only what is in the form.

Create a virtual environment

Assista creates a Python virtual environment and installs the packages your Odoo version needs. You can do it as part of Pull Odoo Source Code, or on its own with Setup Only Python Virtual Environment for Odoo code you already have.

Field	What to enter
Odoo Version	The version of the Odoo source. Required
Target Directory	The project folder. The environment is created inside it
Python Path	The interpreter to use. The list shows every Python Assista finds on your machine
Virtual Environment Folder Name	.venv (default), venv, .env or env

Select Create Virtual Environment Only.

• Prebuilt packages. Assista installs ready-made packages for your Odoo and Python versions, so most packages do not need compiling. Setup needs an internet connection and usually takes a few minutes.
• Unsupported Python. If your Python is not supported for the Odoo version, a warning appears: "Pre-built venv/wheels not available for Odoo X on Python Y". Assista still creates an empty environment and skips the packages. Install them yourself, or choose a supported Python. See the version table.
• Odoo 11.0. It has no prebuilt packages. Assista creates an empty environment and you install the requirements yourself.
• Replacing. If the folder already exists, Assista asks twice before deleting it.
• Timeout. Creating the environment is cancelled after 120 seconds. Antivirus scanning is the usual cause.

Windows

There are no prebuilt packages for Odoo 12.0 and 13.0 on Windows, or for Odoo 19.0 with Python 3.10 on Windows. Setup stops with a "branch was not found" message. Choose a different version or Python.

Configure the debugger

Use Configure Odoo Debugger to tell Assista how to start Odoo.

Field	Example
Python Path	/path/to/odoo/.venv/bin/python (on Windows, .venv\Scripts\python.exe)
Odoo-bin Path	/path/to/odoo/odoo-bin
Odoo Configuration Path	/path/to/odoo.conf

All three fields are required. Typing in Python Path or Odoo Configuration Path suggests matching files. Select Enable development mode to start Odoo with --dev=reload,qweb,xml,assets, so code, template, XML and asset changes reload automatically.

1. Select Test Configuration to check the paths. It reports whether the Python and odoo-bin run, and whether odoo.conf has db_host, db_user and db_password.
2. Select Save Configuration. A notification confirms the change and offers Open launch.json.

Saving adds an Odoo Debug entry to .vscode/launch.json. Other entries in the file are kept. The paths inside your project are saved relative to the folder, so the project keeps working if you move it. If the file cannot be read, Assista asks before replacing it.

To start Odoo, see Run and debug Odoo.

Supported Python versions

Pick a Python that your Odoo version supports.

Odoo version	Supported Python
20.0	3.12, 3.13, 3.14
19.0	3.10, 3.12, 3.13
18.0	3.10, 3.12
17.0	3.10, 3.12
16.0	3.8, 3.10, 3.12
15.0	3.8, 3.10, 3.12
14.0	3.8, 3.10
13.0 and 12.0	3.8
11.0	None. You install the requirements yourself

Troubleshooting

What you see	What to do
"Git is not installed or not found in the system PATH"	Install Git and try again
"Please select a Python interpreter"	Pick one in Python Path, or turn off Setup virtual environment
"No Python versions found"	Install a supported Python and reopen the form
"Enter a valid port number (1-65535)"	Fix the Database Port or HTTP Port
"Conf file missing fields: …" in Test Configuration	Add db_host, db_user and db_password to odoo.conf
"Odoo-bin not executable" in Test Configuration	Check the Python Path and Odoo-bin Path. The Python must be able to run odoo-bin
Odoo cannot connect to the database	Check the database user, password, host and port. See Prerequisites
Download stalls or times out	Check your internet connection, proxy and certificate settings

Next steps

• Run and debug Odoo.
• Create modules and files.
• Ask Assista Coder for help.