odoo-data

name

odoo-data

description

Shipping data with an Odoo module — XML/CSV data files, seeded records, ir.sequence numbering, and configuration via res.config.settings / ir.config_parameter. Use whenever adding records to data/ or demo/, writing <record>/<field> XML, wiring external IDs (ref/eval/command tuples), setting noupdate, ordering the __manifest__ data list, generating document numbers, or chasing "my edit reverts on -u" / "duplicate seeded record" bugs. Don't guess what's already seeded or whether a record is protected — read ground truth from ir.model.data via odoo-introspect's metadata script first.

Odoo data, sequences & configuration

Data files are code: records load on -i and, unless protected, are re-asserted from XML on every -u. Two failures dominate — a seeded record's manual edits silently vanish on the next upgrade, or you create a second copy of a record the base already ships. Both come from guessing what exists and how it's flagged.

The rule: before adding or editing shipped data, read what's already seeded and its noupdate flag from ir.model.data — don't guess.

Targets Odoo 17/18, through Odoo 19 (current LTS). For older versions check skills/odoo-introspect/references/version-matrix.md.

Discover first (introspect, don't grep)

Run odoo-introspect's scripts against the live DB before touching data:

# metadata — seeded external IDs for a model: owning module, xmlid, and noupdate.
#           noupdate_records (noupdate=True) are protected from -u: UI edits stick,
#           but later XML edits won't apply — change them with a migration.
MODEL=res.partner odoo-bin shell -d <DB> --no-http < scripts/metadata.py
# model_brief — field names/types, so record <field name> values aren't guessed.
MODEL=res.partner odoo-bin shell -d <DB> --no-http < scripts/model_brief.py

If metadata.py lists module.xmlid for what you're about to add, reuse it with ref() instead of creating a duplicate.

data/ vs demo/ — when each loads

Folder / manifest key	Loads on	Loaded on -u	Use for
data	every install/update	yes (unless noupdate)	real config: sequences, params, mail templates, ACL data
demo	only if DB created with demo data	yes, demo DBs only	sample records for dev/tests — never relied on in prod logic

Demo never loads on a --without-demo=all database; production code must not depend on a demo record existing.

noupdate — the silent reverter

noupdate controls what -u does to an already-created record. Get it wrong and edits disappear or your XML changes never apply.

noupdate	On -i	On -u	Means
0 (default)	created	fields re-written from XML	XML is source of truth; UI edits to it revert on -u
1	created	untouched	user-editable after install; your later XML edits won't apply either

• Set per file/block: <odoo noupdate="1"> or a scoped <data noupdate="1">…</data> inside a default <odoo>.
• Ship config you expect customers to change (sequences, ir.config_parameter defaults, templates) as noupdate="1".
• To change a record that is already noupdate="1" on installed DBs, a -u won't do it — write a migration (see odoo-migration).
• metadata.py → seeded_data.noupdate_records tells you which records are protected before you try to patch them.

Record & relation syntax

Full XML/CSV syntax, x2many command tuples, and the Command.* equivalents are in references/data-and-sequences.md. The traps:

• Load order matters — ref('module.xmlid') resolves only if that record's file is listed earlier in the manifest data list. Forward references raise External ID not found.
• A file not in the data list silently does nothing — no error, just no records.
• CSV — filename = model (res.partner.csv); header id = external id; many2one by external id uses the field/id column (e.g. parent_id/id).

Sequences & configuration — pick the built-in

Need	Use	Not
Document number (SO/INV/ref)	ir.sequence + next_by_code('my.code')	string formatting / max(id)+1
Guaranteed gap-free numbering	sequence implementation='no_gap'	standard (Postgres seq, may gap on rollback)
Admin-tunable setting	res.config.settings field w/ config_parameter=	hard-coded constant
Read a setting in code	ir.config_parameter get_param/set_param (sudo)	a custom singleton model
Per-company numbering/config	company_id on the sequence / param	one global value

Gotchas that fail silently

• Editing a noupdate="0" record in the UI → reverted on the next module -u. Mark it noupdate="1" or stop hand-editing shipped data.
• eval vs ref — <field name="x" ref="m.id"/> sets one m2o; multi/computed values need eval="[Command.set([ref('m.id')])]". Mixing them silently writes the wrong thing.
• get_param returns a string — 'False', '0', '5' are all truthy; cast before testing.
• Translatable field values in XML become the source term; translate via .po, never by shipping per-language records. Brief i18n notes in the reference.

References & scripts

• references/data-and-sequences.md — full XML/CSV syntax, x2many command tuples + Command.*, ir.sequence fields & interpolation, res.config.settings/ir.config_parameter patterns, safe updates to shipped records, i18n note.
• references/noupdate-and-sequences.md — the noupdate=True lifecycle (loaded once, frozen on -u → migration to change), ir.sequence (next_by_code / per-company / _next), ir.config_parameter vs res.config.settings, Command.* x2many forms, and how odoo-ai metadata <model> surfaces protected noupdate records.
• Uses odoo-introspect scripts: metadata.py (seeded ir.model.data + noupdate), model_brief.py (field inventory).
• Changing already-installed protected data → odoo-migration. Proving -i/-u both load cleanly → odoo-testing.