Skip to content

Configuration

Complete guide to configuring the Odoo 15 ERP system for your environment.

Configuration Overview

All configuration is centralized in the .env file, which serves as the single source of truth for the entire system.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   .env (Source of Truth)                     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ENVIRONMENT        → test / production                      │
│  COMPOSE_FILE       → Docker compose files to use            │
│  DB_*               → Database connection                    │
│  DOMAIN_*           → Domain names for nginx                 │
│  LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL  → SSL certificate email                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  production_deploy.sh  │  ssl-init.sh  │  docker-compose    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Environment Files

File Purpose Git Tracked
.env.example Template with placeholder values Yes
.env Active configuration (has secrets) No
.env.test Clean test template No 
# Create environment file from template
cp .env.example .env

# Edit configuration
nano .env

# Verify configuration
./production_deploy.sh config

Environment Selection

ENVIRONMENT Variable

# Set environment type
ENVIRONMENT=test        # Local development
ENVIRONMENT=production  # Production server

COMPOSE_FILE Variable

The COMPOSE_FILE variable determines which Docker Compose files are loaded:

# Test environment (default)
COMPOSE_FILE=docker-compose.yml:docker-compose.test.yml

# Production environment
COMPOSE_FILE=docker-compose.yml:docker-compose.prod.yml
Environment COMPOSE_FILE Value Database Ports Exposed
Test ...test.yml Local PostgreSQL All (8069, 8000, 8001, 8002, 80, 443)
Production ...prod.yml AWS RDS Only 80, 443 (nginx)

No -f Flags Needed

With COMPOSE_FILE set in .env, all docker compose commands automatically use the correct files.

GIT_BRANCH Variable

# Git branch for deployments
GIT_BRANCH=main      # Production
GIT_BRANCH=develop   # Development

Used by ./production_deploy.sh deploy and ./production_deploy.sh update.

Environment Variables Reference

Database Configuration

Variable Default Description
DB_HOST db Database hostname (db for Docker, RDS endpoint for production)
DB_PORT 5432 PostgreSQL port
DB_NAME odoo Database name
DB_USER odoo Database username
DB_PASSWORD - Database password (required) 
DB_HOST=db
DB_PORT=5432
DB_NAME=odoo_test
DB_USER=odoo
DB_PASSWORD=odoo_test_2025

DB_HOST=your-db.xxxxx.us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com
DB_PORT=5432
DB_NAME=odoo_production
DB_USER=odoo_admin
DB_PASSWORD=<strong-unique-password>

Odoo Configuration

Variable Default Description
ODOO_PORT 8069 Internal Odoo port
ODOO_ADMIN_PASSWORD - Master password for database management

Security

Use a strong, unique ODOO_ADMIN_PASSWORD. This controls access to database creation/deletion.

Domain Configuration

Variable Example Description
DOMAIN_LANDING yourcompany.com Main landing page domain
DOMAIN_ERP erp.yourcompany.com Odoo ERP domain
DOMAIN_PWA pwa.yourcompany.com Field PWA domain
DOMAIN_DOCS docs.yourcompany.com Documentation portal domain

These domains are used by:

  • ./scripts/ssl-init.sh for SSL certificate requests
  • nginx/conf.d/production.conf.template for server configuration

SSL Configuration

Variable Description
LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL Email for Let's Encrypt certificate notifications

SSL certificates are stored in nginx/ssl/live/{domain}/.

Landing Page Configuration

Variable Description
LANDING_SECRET_KEY Flask secret key for sessions
LANDING_THEME Theme: blue, slate, or earth
HELPDESK_TEAM_ID Odoo helpdesk team ID for tickets
RECAPTCHA_SITE_KEY Google reCAPTCHA v3 site key
RECAPTCHA_SECRET_KEY Google reCAPTCHA v3 secret key

Company Information

Variable Description
COMPANY_NAME Company name displayed on landing page
COMPANY_PHONE Contact phone number
COMPANY_EMAIL Contact email address
COMPANY_ADDRESS Short address (city, state)
COMPANY_SHOWROOM_ADDRESS Full showroom address
COMPANY_HOURS Business hours
COMPANY_MAP_URL Google Maps URL

AWS Configuration

Required for backups and S3 storage (signatures, photos):

Variable Description
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID AWS access key
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY AWS secret key
AWS_REGION AWS region (e.g., us-east-1)
S3_BUCKET S3 bucket for signatures/photos
S3_BACKUP_BUCKET S3 bucket for backups

Timezone

Variable Default Description
TZ America/Chicago System timezone

Verify Configuration

Using the Config Command

./production_deploy.sh config

Output: 

Current Configuration (from .env):
  Environment:  test
  Database:     odoo_test (host: db, user: odoo)
  Git Branch:   main
  Domains:
    Landing:    localhost
    ERP:        erp.localhost
    PWA:        pwa.localhost
    Docs:       docs.localhost

Check Environment Variables

# Verify environment file is loaded
docker compose config | grep DB_HOST

# Check running configuration
docker compose exec odoo env | grep -E "(DB_|ODOO_)"

Test Database Connection

# Test from Odoo container
docker compose exec odoo python3 -c "
import psycopg2
import os
conn = psycopg2.connect(
    host=os.environ.get('HOST', 'db'),
    database=os.environ.get('DB_NAME', 'odoo'),
    user=os.environ.get('USER', 'odoo'),
    password=os.environ.get('PASSWORD')
)
print('Connection successful!')
conn.close()
"

Odoo Configuration File

The main Odoo configuration is in configs/odoo.conf.

Key Settings

[options]
# Addons paths
addons_path = /mnt/extra-addons/helpdesk,/mnt/extra-addons/odoo

# Data directory (bind mount to ./odoo-data)
data_dir = /var/lib/odoo

# Performance settings
workers = 0          # Set to 2-4 for production
max_cron_threads = 1
limit_memory_hard = 2684354560  # 2.5GB
limit_memory_soft = 2147483648  # 2GB
limit_time_cpu = 600
limit_time_real = 1200

# Logging
log_level = info
logrotate = True

# Disable demo data on new databases
without_demo = all

# Security
list_db = True       # Set to False in production

Production Recommendations

Setting Test Production
workers 0 2-4
list_db True False
log_level info warning
limit_memory_hard 2.5GB 4GB+

Data Storage

Odoo Data (Bind Mount)

Odoo filestore is stored as a bind mount for easy backup:

./odoo-data/              → /var/lib/odoo (in container)
├── addons/               # Downloaded Odoo Apps store modules
├── filestore/            # Attachments, images, documents
│   └── <db_name>/        # Database-specific files
└── sessions/             # User session data

PostgreSQL Data

PostgreSQL uses a Docker named volume for data integrity:

# Test environment only
docker volume ls | grep db-data

Production uses AWS RDS (managed by Amazon).

Module Configuration

JustCall SMS

Configure in Odoo: Settings → Technical → System Parameters

Key Value
justcall.api_key Your API key
justcall.api_secret Your API secret

See JustCall SMS Module for complete configuration.

Xero Integration

Configure OAuth2 credentials in Odoo: Accounting → Configuration → Xero

See Xero Integration for setup instructions.

Service Signatures

Configure S3 bucket for signature storage in .env:

S3_BUCKET=yourcompany-signatures
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-access-key
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret-key

See Service Signature Module for details.

Next Steps