How to set up Odoo 20 in PyCharm on Windows

What changed since Odoo 19

• Python 3.12 or newer. Odoo 20 will not start on anything older, and warns on versions newer than 3.14. Odoo 19 accepted 3.10.
• PostgreSQL 16 or newer. Odoo 20 warns when it connects to an older server; Odoo 19 asked for 13.
• A choice of PDF engine. wkhtmltopdf is still the default, and Odoo 20 adds an optional engine of its own, Paper Muncher.
• Access rights in one file. Modules declare access in security/ir.access.csv, one line per group and set of operations with an optional domain, which replaces both ir.model.access.csv and record rules.

Step 1: install Python 3.12

Check what you have with python --version in Command Prompt. On Windows, 3.12 is the safest choice because it is the version Odoo pins its dependencies against. Download the 64-bit Windows installer from python.org.

• Run the installer and choose Customize installation.
• Tick Add python.exe to PATH.
• On Optional Features keep everything selected.
• On Advanced Options tick Install Python 3.12 for all users and Add Python to environment variables, then click Install.

Step 2: install PostgreSQL 16 or newer

Download the PostgreSQL installer for Windows x86-64, version 16 or later, from postgresql.org and run it.

• Keep pgAdmin 4 and the Command Line Tools ticked on Select Components.
• Set a password for the postgres superuser and keep it somewhere safe.
• Leave the port at 5432 and the other settings at their defaults.
• You can skip Stack Builder at the end: Odoo needs nothing from it.

Step 3: create the Odoo database user

1. Open pgAdmin 4 and set a master password when asked.
2. Expand Servers → your PostgreSQL instance → Login/Group Roles.
3. Right-click Login/Group Roles → Create → Login/Group Role.
4. On General, name the role odoo20.
5. On Definition, set a password.
6. On Privileges, switch on Can login? and Create databases?, then save.

On your own machine you can also switch on Superuser? to avoid permission errors when restoring backups. Never do that on a server. Odoo refuses to run as the postgres user itself, which is why it gets a role of its own.

Step 4: install the C++ build tools

Most of Odoo’s Python dependencies install from ready-made wheels, but a few still compile native code on Windows. Install Build Tools for Visual Studio from Microsoft with the Desktop development with C++ workload, then restart Windows.

Step 5: install wkhtmltopdf for PDF reports

Odoo 20 prints invoices and reports with wkhtmltopdf by default. Download the Windows 64-bit installer of version 0.12.6 from wkhtmltopdf.org and install it with the defaults, into C:\Program Files\wkhtmltopdf. You will point Odoo at it in Step 8.

Step 6: download the Odoo 20 source

Open the official repository at github.com/odoo/odoo, switch the branch to 20.0, then Code → Download ZIP, and extract it to a folder such as C:\Users\you\odoo-20.0. With Git installed, clone it instead:

git clone https://github.com/odoo/odoo.git --branch 20.0 --depth 1 odoo-20.0

With an Odoo Enterprise subscription, get the 20.0 branch of the enterprise repository the same way and keep it next to it, for example in C:\Users\you\enterprise.

Step 7: install PyCharm

Download PyCharm from jetbrains.com and install it with the default options. PyCharm is now one product with a free tier: after the 30-day Pro trial, the free core features are enough for Odoo development.

Step 8: configure the project in PyCharm

Open PyCharm, choose Open, and select the Odoo folder. In its root, create a file named odoo.conf:

[options]
; master password for the database manager
admin_passwd = change-me
db_host = localhost
db_port = 5432
db_user = odoo20
db_password = your_password
addons_path = C:\Users\you\odoo-20.0\addons
; wkhtmltopdf for PDF reports, pg_dump and psql for backups
bin_path = C:\Program Files\wkhtmltopdf\bin
pg_path = C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16\bin
http_port = 8020

Use the role and password from Step 3, and change the PostgreSQL folder if you installed another version. With Enterprise, list its folder first: addons_path = C:\Users\you\enterprise,C:\Users\you\odoo-20.0\addons. Port 8020 keeps it apart from an Odoo 19 instance on another port.

Next, set the project interpreter (Settings → Project → Python Interpreter → Add Interpreter) to a new virtual environment based on Python 3.12, then install the requirements from PyCharm’s terminal:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Finally, create a run configuration: Run → Edit Configurations → + → Python, and fill in:

• Name: Odoo 20
• Script path: the odoo-bin file in the Odoo folder
• Parameters: -c odoo.conf
• Working directory: the Odoo folder
• Interpreter: the virtual environment you set above

Step 9: run Odoo and create a database

Click Run. When the log shows the server is listening, open http://localhost:8020. On the database screen enter the master password from admin_passwd, a database name, the admin email and password, and a language and country. Untick demo data if you want a clean database, then click Create database.

Tips from our developers

• Keep your own modules in a separate folder and add it to addons_path; never edit Odoo’s core addons.
• Install watchdog in the virtual environment and start Odoo with --dev=all, so Python, view and template changes reload without a restart.
• Run a module’s tests on a throwaway database with -d test20 -i your_module --test-enable; Odoo stops when they finish.
• Back up and restore databases from http://localhost:8020/web/database/manager. That is what pg_path is for.

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