Odoo 16

Odoo 16 Development Skill

Use this skill when creating, reviewing, migrating, or debugging Odoo 16.0 addons, especially OCA-style addons.

First Steps

1. Confirm the target branch, dependency policy, and whether the addon belongs to an OCA repository or a private repository following OCA rules.
2. Read references/official-sources.md for the official Odoo 16 and OCA source map.
3. Pick the focused reference files for the task:
   • references/module-backend-security.md
   • references/ui-frontend.md
   • references/testing-quality-oca.md
   • references/porting-upgrade.md
4. Prefer local repository conventions over generic examples when they are stricter and still compatible with Odoo 16.0.

Version Rules

• Target branch names and manifest versions must use 16.0.
• XML list views use <tree>, not <list>.
• Action view_mode values use tree,form, not list,form.
• attrs and states are valid Odoo 16 view modifier mechanisms.
• Use manifest assets bundles for frontend assets.
• Do not add Odoo 17+ view modifier syntax, Odoo 18+ HOOT patterns, or Odoo 19 ORM-only APIs unless the target repository already provides a compatibility layer.
• Follow OCA metadata, linting, README fragment, migration, and test conventions when the addon is OCA-style.

Development Checklist

• Keep manifests explicit: name, version, depends, license, author, website, data, demo, and assets only when needed.
• Use models.Model, models.TransientModel, or models.AbstractModel according to persistence and API needs.
• Keep business constraints in Python unless an SQL constraint is the simpler durable guarantee.
• Use access CSV files and record rules for security. Menus and views are not security boundaries.
• Keep XML IDs stable and migration-friendly.
• Keep frontend code in Odoo 16 asset bundles and use /** @odoo-module **/ for native JavaScript modules.
• Write focused tests and tag install-time or post-install tests deliberately.

Validation

Run the bundled lightweight validator on an addon path before final review:

node skills/odoo-16/scripts/validate-addon.mjs /path/to/addon

Then run the repository's normal OCA checks, typically pre-commit hooks, pylint-odoo --valid-odoo-versions=16.0, and Odoo tests with the right database and --test-tags.