odoo-17-coding-standard

name	odoo_17_coding_standard
description	Odoo 17.0 coding standards for models, views, security, constraints, and performance. Use when developing Odoo 17 modules to ensure maintainable, upgrade-safe code.
version	17.0.0
author	VPCS Team
category	coding_standards
odoo_versions	["17.0"]
tags	["odoo","python","xml","security","models","views","constraints","performance","testing"]

Odoo 17.0 Coding Standard

Goal

Apply Odoo 17.0 coding standards for maintainable, upgrade-safe code.

Sources

• sample_module/ODOO17_CODING_STANDARDS.md (authoritative)
• Upstream refs: github.com/odoo/odoo/tree/17.0

Key rules (version-specific)

• Views: use <tree> (lists arrive in 18/19); attrs allowed; domains explicit.
• Constraints: _sql_constraints for DB checks/uniques; @api.constrains for logic.
• Context: use self._context (19 moves to self.env.context).
• Controllers: type='json' valid; jsonrpc optional.
• Mail: chatter via mail mixins; no <chatter/> tag yet.
• Module layout: manifest data lists XML; no XML in __init__.py.
• Security: ACL + record rules; limit sudo; assert access in business methods.
• Tests: TransactionCase/unit; cover constraints, access, edge cases.
• Performance: avoid N+1; use .mapped(), indexes on hot domains; batch ops.

Compute methods on smart-button/counter fields: guard against NewId

A compute (e.g. a related-record count feeding a form smart button) that builds a dict via read_group()/search_count() keyed by self.id, then does a raw dict lookup like counts[record.id], throws KeyError: <NewId 0x... instance> the moment a user opens a brand-new, unsaved form — the in-memory NewId record is never a key in that dict because it has no matching related rows yet. Always use counts.get(record.id, 0) (or equivalent .get() with a safe default) in any compute that indexes a read_group/aggregate result by record id. This is a real, reproducible bug class — verified live in production Odoo 18 code, not theoretical (see docs/docker-sandbox/phase-8/live-test.md step 7 in odoo-agent-pro-kit).

XML Data Files: RELAX NG Schema Compliance

Official Schema Reference

URL: https://github.com/odoo/odoo/blob/17.0/odoo/import_xml.rng

CRITICAL: All XML data files (views, data, security, reports, menus) MUST follow the RELAX NG schema defined in odoo/import_xml.rng. This schema is the authoritative definition of valid XML structure.

Key RNG Rules

Root elements: <odoo>, <openerp>, or <data> (with optional noupdate, auto_sequence, uid, context attributes)

Record structure:

<record id="unique_id" model="model.name">
  <field name="field_name">value</field>
  <!-- Field types: base64, char, file, int, float, list, tuple, html, xml -->
  <!-- Field attributes: ref, eval, search (mutually exclusive) -->
</record>

Template structure:

<template id="unique_id" name="Template Name" inherit_id="base.template" primary="True">
  <!-- Optional: t-name, forcecreate, context, priority, groups, active -->
</template>

Menu items:

<!-- Root menu: can have web_icon, action, children -->
<menuitem id="menu_root" name="Root" web_icon="module,static/icon.png" sequence="10"/>

<!-- Sub-menu: requires parent, can have action OR children -->
<menuitem id="menu_sub" name="Sub" parent="menu_root" action="action_id" groups="base.group_user"/>

Window actions:

<act_window id="action_id" name="Action" res_model="model.name" view_mode="tree,form"
            domain="[]" context="{}" target="current" groups="base.group_user"
            binding_model="other.model" binding_type="action"/>

Common RNG Validation Errors

❌ WRONG:

<record model="ir.ui.view">  <!-- Missing required 'id' -->
<field name="x" type="int" eval="123"/>  <!-- Can't mix type with eval -->
<field name="x" ref="module.id" eval="123"/>  <!-- Can't mix ref with eval -->
<menuitem id="x" web_icon="icon.png" parent="y"/>  <!-- web_icon only for root menus -->
<module>  <!-- Invalid root element -->

✅ CORRECT:

<odoo>
  <record id="view_form" model="ir.ui.view">
    <field name="name">model.form</field>
    <field name="arch" type="xml">
      <form><field name="name"/></form>
    </field>
  </record>
</odoo>

Validation

• xmllint: xmllint --noout --relaxng odoo/import_xml.rng module/data/file.xml
• Odoo: Validates XML on module install/upgrade
• IDE: Use XML schema validation in VS Code/PyCharm

Output expectation

Reference the standard file and call out any intentional deviations with rationale/risks.