External API — Odoo13 Dev Document（https://www.odooai.cn） 13.0 documentation

Odoo is usually extended internally via modules, but many of its features and all of its data are also available from the outside for external analysis or integration with various tools. Part of the Models API is easily available over XML-RPC and accessible from a variety of languages.

Connection

Configuration

If you already have an Odoo server installed, you can just use its parameters

Warning

For Odoo Online instances (<domain>.odoo.com), users are created without a local password (as a person you are logged in via the Odoo Online authentication system, not by the instance itself). To use XML-RPC on Odoo Online instances, you will need to set a password on the user account you want to use:

Log in your instance with an administrator account
Go to Settings ‣ Users ‣ Users
Click on the user you want to use for XML-RPC access
Click the Change Password button
Set a New Password value then click Change Password.

The server url is the instance’s domain (e.g. https://mycompany.odoo.com), the database name is the name of the instance (e.g. mycompany). The username is the configured user’s login as shown by the Change Password screen.

Python 3
Ruby
PHP
Java

url = <insert server URL>
db = <insert database name>
username = 'admin'
password = <insert password for your admin user (default: admin)>

url = <insert server URL>
db = <insert database name>
username = "admin"
password = <insert password for your admin user (default: admin)>

$url = <insert server URL>;
$db = <insert database name>;
$username = "admin";
$password = <insert password for your admin user (default: admin)>;

final String url = <insert server URL>,
              db = <insert database name>,
        username = "admin",
        password = <insert password for your admin user (default: admin)>;

demo

To make exploration simpler, you can also ask https://demo.odoo.com for a test database:

Python 3
Ruby
PHP
Java

import xmlrpc.client
info = xmlrpc.client.ServerProxy('https://demo.odoo.com/start').start()
url, db, username, password = \
    info['host'], info['database'], info['user'], info['password']

require "xmlrpc/client"
info = XMLRPC::Client.new2('https://demo.odoo.com/start').call('start')
url, db, username, password = \
    info['host'], info['database'], info['user'], info['password']

require_once('ripcord.php');
$info = ripcord::client('https://demo.odoo.com/start')->start();
list($url, $db, $username, $password) =
  array($info['host'], $info['database'], $info['user'], $info['password']);

Note

These examples use the Ripcord library, which provides a simple XML-RPC API. Ripcord requires that XML-RPC support be enabled in your PHP installation.

Since calls are performed over HTTPS, it also requires that the OpenSSL extension be enabled.

final XmlRpcClient client = new XmlRpcClient();

final XmlRpcClientConfigImpl start_config = new XmlRpcClientConfigImpl();
start_config.setServerURL(new URL("https://demo.odoo.com/start"));
final Map<String, String> info = (Map<String, String>)client.execute(
    start_config, "start", emptyList());

final String url = info.get("host"),
              db = info.get("database"),
        username = info.get("user"),
        password = info.get("password");

Note

These examples use the Apache XML-RPC library

The examples do not include imports as these imports couldn’t be pasted in the code.

Logging in

Odoo requires users of the API to be authenticated before they can query most data.

The xmlrpc/2/common endpoint provides meta-calls which don’t require authentication, such as the authentication itself or fetching version information. To verify if the connection information is correct before trying to authenticate, the simplest call is to ask for the server’s version. The authentication itself is done through the authenticate function and returns a user identifier (uid) used in authenticated calls instead of the login.

Python 3
Ruby
PHP
Java

common = xmlrpc.client.ServerProxy('{}/xmlrpc/2/common'.format(url))
common.version()

common = XMLRPC::Client.new2("#{url}/xmlrpc/2/common")
common.call('version')

$common = ripcord::client("$url/xmlrpc/2/common");
$common->version();

final XmlRpcClientConfigImpl common_config = new XmlRpcClientConfigImpl();
common_config.setServerURL(
    new URL(String.format("%s/xmlrpc/2/common", url)));
client.execute(common_config, "version", emptyList());

{
    "server_version": "13.0",
    "server_version_info": [13, 0, 0, "final", 0],
    "server_serie": "13.0",
    "protocol_version": 1,
}

Python 3
Ruby
PHP
Java

uid = common.authenticate(db, username, password, {})

uid = common.call('authenticate', db, username, password, {})

$uid = $common->authenticate($db, $username, $password, array());

int uid = (int)client.execute(
    common_config, "authenticate", asList(
        db, username, password, emptyMap()));

Calling methods

The second endpoint is xmlrpc/2/object, is used to call methods of odoo models via the execute_kw RPC function.

Each call to execute_kw takes the following parameters:

the database to use, a string
the user id (retrieved through authenticate), an integer
the user’s password, a string
the model name, a string
the method name, a string
an array/list of parameters passed by position
a mapping/dict of parameters to pass by keyword (optional)

For instance to see if we can read the res.partner model we can call check_access_rights with operation passed by position and raise_exception passed by keyword (in order to get a true/false result rather than true/error):

Python 3
Ruby
PHP
Java

models = xmlrpc.client.ServerProxy('{}/xmlrpc/2/object'.format(url))
models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'check_access_rights',
    ['read'], {'raise_exception': False})

models = XMLRPC::Client.new2("#{url}/xmlrpc/2/object").proxy
models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'check_access_rights',
    ['read'], {raise_exception: false})

$models = ripcord::client("$url/xmlrpc/2/object");
$models->execute_kw($db, $uid, $password,
    'res.partner', 'check_access_rights',
    array('read'), array('raise_exception' => false));

final XmlRpcClient models = new XmlRpcClient() {{
    setConfig(new XmlRpcClientConfigImpl() {{
        setServerURL(new URL(String.format("%s/xmlrpc/2/object", url)));
    }});
}};
models.execute("execute_kw", asList(
    db, uid, password,
    "res.partner", "check_access_rights",
    asList("read"),
    new HashMap() {{ put("raise_exception", false); }}
));

true

List records

Records can be listed and filtered via search().

search() takes a mandatory domain filter (possibly empty), and returns the database identifiers of all records matching the filter. To list customer companies for instance:

Python 3
Ruby
PHP
Java

models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'search',
    [[['is_company', '=', True]]])

models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'search',
    [[['is_company', '=', true]]])

$models->execute_kw($db, $uid, $password,
    'res.partner', 'search', array(
        array(array('is_company', '=', true))));

asList((Object[])models.execute("execute_kw", asList(
    db, uid, password,
    "res.partner", "search",
    asList(asList(
        asList("is_company", "=", true)))
)));

[7, 18, 12, 14, 17, 19, 8, 31, 26, 16, 13, 20, 30, 22, 29, 15, 23, 28, 74]

Pagination

By default a search will return the ids of all records matching the condition, which may be a huge number. offset and limit parameters are available to only retrieve a subset of all matched records.

Python 3
Ruby
PHP
Java

models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'search',
    [[['is_company', '=', True]]],
    {'offset': 10, 'limit': 5})

models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'search',
    [[['is_company', '=', true]]],
    {offset: 10, limit: 5})

$models->execute_kw($db, $uid, $password,
    'res.partner', 'search',
    array(array(array('is_company', '=', true))),
    array('offset'=>10, 'limit'=>5));

asList((Object[])models.execute("execute_kw", asList(
    db, uid, password,
    "res.partner", "search",
    asList(asList(
        asList("is_company", "=", true))),
    new HashMap() {{ put("offset", 10); put("limit", 5); }}
)));

[13, 20, 30, 22, 29]

Count records

Rather than retrieve a possibly gigantic list of records and count them, search_count() can be used to retrieve only the number of records matching the query. It takes the same domain filter as search() and no other parameter.

Python 3
Ruby
PHP
Java

models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'search_count',
    [[['is_company', '=', True]]])

models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'search_count',
    [[['is_company', '=', true]]])

$models->execute_kw($db, $uid, $password,
    'res.partner', 'search_count',
    array(array(array('is_company', '=', true))));

(Integer)models.execute("execute_kw", asList(
    db, uid, password,
    "res.partner", "search_count",
    asList(asList(
        asList("is_company", "=", true)))
));

Warning

calling search then search_count (or the other way around) may not yield coherent results if other users are using the server: stored data could have changed between the calls

Read records

Record data is accessible via the read() method, which takes a list of ids (as returned by search()) and optionally a list of fields to fetch. By default, it will fetch all the fields the current user can read, which tends to be a huge amount.

Python 3
Ruby
PHP
Java

ids = models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'search',
    [[['is_company', '=', True]]],
    {'limit': 1})
[record] = models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'read', [ids])
# count the number of fields fetched by default
len(record)

ids = models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'search',
    [[['is_company', '=', true]]],
    {limit: 1})
record = models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'read', [ids]).first
# count the number of fields fetched by default
record.length

$ids = $models->execute_kw($db, $uid, $password,
    'res.partner', 'search',
    array(array(array('is_company', '=', true))),
    array('limit'=>1));
$records = $models->execute_kw($db, $uid, $password,
    'res.partner', 'read', array($ids));
// count the number of fields fetched by default
count($records[0]);

final List ids = asList((Object[])models.execute(
    "execute_kw", asList(
        db, uid, password,
        "res.partner", "search",
        asList(asList(
            asList("is_company", "=", true))),
        new HashMap() {{ put("limit", 1); }})));
final Map record = (Map)((Object[])models.execute(
    "execute_kw", asList(
        db, uid, password,
        "res.partner", "read",
        asList(ids)
    )
))[0];
// count the number of fields fetched by default
record.size();

Conversedly, picking only three fields deemed interesting.

Python 3
Ruby
PHP
Java

models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'read',
    [ids], {'fields': ['name', 'country_id', 'comment']})

models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'read',
    [ids], {fields: %w(name country_id comment)})

$models->execute_kw($db, $uid, $password,
    'res.partner', 'read',
    array($ids),
    array('fields'=>array('name', 'country_id', 'comment')));

asList((Object[])models.execute("execute_kw", asList(
    db, uid, password,
    "res.partner", "read",
    asList(ids),
    new HashMap() {{
        put("fields", asList("name", "country_id", "comment"));
    }}
)));

[{"comment": false, "country_id": [21, "Belgium"], "id": 7, "name": "Agrolait"}]

Note

even if the id field is not requested, it is always returned

Listing record fields

fields_get() can be used to inspect a model’s fields and check which ones seem to be of interest.

Because it returns a large amount of meta-information (it is also used by client programs) it should be filtered before printing, the most interesting items for a human user are string (the field’s label), help (a help text if available) and type (to know which values to expect, or to send when updating a record):

Python 3
Ruby
PHP
Java

models.execute_kw(
    db, uid, password, 'res.partner', 'fields_get',
    [], {'attributes': ['string', 'help', 'type']})

models.execute_kw(
    db, uid, password, 'res.partner', 'fields_get',
    [], {attributes: %w(string help type)})

$models->execute_kw($db, $uid, $password,
    'res.partner', 'fields_get',
    array(), array('attributes' => array('string', 'help', 'type')));

(Map<String, Map<String, Object>>)models.execute("execute_kw", asList(
    db, uid, password,
    "res.partner", "fields_get",
    emptyList(),
    new HashMap() {{
        put("attributes", asList("string", "help", "type"));
    }}
));

{
    "ean13": {
        "type": "char",
        "help": "BarCode",
        "string": "EAN13"
    },
    "property_account_position_id": {
        "type": "many2one",
        "help": "The fiscal position will determine taxes and accounts used for the partner.",
        "string": "Fiscal Position"
    },
    "signup_valid": {
        "type": "boolean",
        "help": "",
        "string": "Signup Token is Valid"
    },
    "date_localization": {
        "type": "date",
        "help": "",
        "string": "Geo Localization Date"
    },
    "ref_company_ids": {
        "type": "one2many",
        "help": "",
        "string": "Companies that refers to partner"
    },
    "sale_order_count": {
        "type": "integer",
        "help": "",
        "string": "# of Sales Order"
    },
    "purchase_order_count": {
        "type": "integer",
        "help": "",
        "string": "# of Purchase Order"
    },

Search and read

Because it is a very common task, Odoo provides a search_read() shortcut which as its name suggests is equivalent to a search() followed by a read(), but avoids having to perform two requests and keep ids around.

Its arguments are similar to search()’s, but it can also take a list of fields (like read(), if that list is not provided it will fetch all fields of matched records):

Python 3
Ruby
PHP
Java

models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'search_read',
    [[['is_company', '=', True]]],
    {'fields': ['name', 'country_id', 'comment'], 'limit': 5})

models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'search_read',
    [[['is_company', '=', true]]],
    {fields: %w(name country_id comment), limit: 5})

$models->execute_kw($db, $uid, $password,
    'res.partner', 'search_read',
    array(array(array('is_company', '=', true))),
    array('fields'=>array('name', 'country_id', 'comment'), 'limit'=>5));

asList((Object[])models.execute("execute_kw", asList(
    db, uid, password,
    "res.partner", "search_read",
    asList(asList(
        asList("is_company", "=", true))),
    new HashMap() {{
        put("fields", asList("name", "country_id", "comment"));
        put("limit", 5);
    }}
)));

[
    {
        "comment": false,
        "country_id": [ 21, "Belgium" ],
        "id": 7,
        "name": "Agrolait"
    },
    {
        "comment": false,
        "country_id": [ 76, "France" ],
        "id": 18,
        "name": "Axelor"
    },
    {
        "comment": false,
        "country_id": [ 233, "United Kingdom" ],
        "id": 12,
        "name": "Bank Wealthy and sons"
    },
    {
        "comment": false,
        "country_id": [ 105, "India" ],
        "id": 14,
        "name": "Best Designers"
    },
    {
        "comment": false,
        "country_id": [ 76, "France" ],
        "id": 17,
        "name": "Camptocamp"
    }
]

Create records

Records of a model are created using create(). The method will create a single record and return its database identifier.

create() takes a mapping of fields to values, used to initialize the record. For any field which has a default value and is not set through the mapping argument, the default value will be used.

Python 3
Ruby
PHP
Java

id = models.execute_kw(db, uid, password, 'res.partner', 'create', [{
    'name': "New Partner",
}])

id = models.execute_kw(db, uid, password, 'res.partner', 'create', [{
    name: "New Partner",
}])

$id = $models->execute_kw($db, $uid, $password,
    'res.partner', 'create',
    array(array('name'=>"New Partner")));

final Integer id = (Integer)models.execute("execute_kw", asList(
    db, uid, password,
    "res.partner", "create",
    asList(new HashMap() {{ put("name", "New Partner"); }})
));

Warning

while most value types are what would be expected (integer for Integer, string for Char or Text),

Date, Datetime and Binary fields use string values
One2many and Many2many use a special command protocol detailed in the documentation to the write method.

Update records

Records can be updated using write(), it takes a list of records to update and a mapping of updated fields to values similar to create().

Multiple records can be updated simultanously, but they will all get the same values for the fields being set. It is not currently possible to perform “computed” updates (where the value being set depends on an existing value of a record).

Python 3
Ruby
PHP
Java

models.execute_kw(db, uid, password, 'res.partner', 'write', [[id], {
    'name': "Newer partner"
}])
# get record name after having changed it
models.execute_kw(db, uid, password, 'res.partner', 'name_get', [[id]])

models.execute_kw(db, uid, password, 'res.partner', 'write', [[id], {
    name: "Newer partner"
}])
# get record name after having changed it
models.execute_kw(db, uid, password, 'res.partner', 'name_get', [[id]])

$models->execute_kw($db, $uid, $password, 'res.partner', 'write',
    array(array($id), array('name'=>"Newer partner")));
// get record name after having changed it
$models->execute_kw($db, $uid, $password,
    'res.partner', 'name_get', array(array($id)));

models.execute("execute_kw", asList(
    db, uid, password,
    "res.partner", "write",
    asList(
        asList(id),
        new HashMap() {{ put("name", "Newer Partner"); }}
    )
));
// get record name after having changed it
asList((Object[])models.execute("execute_kw", asList(
    db, uid, password,
    "res.partner", "name_get",
    asList(asList(id))
)));

[[78, "Newer partner"]]

Delete records

Records can be deleted in bulk by providing their ids to unlink().

Python 3
Ruby
PHP
Java

models.execute_kw(db, uid, password, 'res.partner', 'unlink', [[id]])
# check if the deleted record is still in the database
models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'search', [[['id', '=', id]]])

models.execute_kw(db, uid, password, 'res.partner', 'unlink', [[id]])
# check if the deleted record is still in the database
models.execute_kw(db, uid, password,
    'res.partner', 'search', [[['id', '=', id]]])

$models->execute_kw($db, $uid, $password,
    'res.partner', 'unlink',
    array(array($id)));
// check if the deleted record is still in the database
$models->execute_kw($db, $uid, $password,
    'res.partner', 'search',
    array(array(array('id', '=', $id))));

models.execute("execute_kw", asList(
    db, uid, password,
    "res.partner", "unlink",
    asList(asList(id))));
// check if the deleted record is still in the database
asList((Object[])models.execute("execute_kw", asList(
    db, uid, password,
    "res.partner", "search",
    asList(asList(asList("id", "=", 78)))
)));

[]

Inspection and introspection

While we previously used fields_get() to query a model and have been using an arbitrary model from the start, Odoo stores most model metadata inside a few meta-models which allow both querying the system and altering models and fields (with some limitations) on the fly over XML-RPC.

`ir.model`

Provides information about Odoo models via its various fields

name: a human-readable description of the model
model: the name of each model in the system
state: whether the model was generated in Python code (base) or by creating an ir.model record (manual)
field_id: list of the model’s fields through a One2many to ir.model.fields
view_ids: One2many to the Views defined for the model
access_ids: One2many relation to the Access Control set on the model

ir.model can be used to

query the system for installed models (as a precondition to operations on the model or to explore the system’s content)
get information about a specific model (generally by listing the fields associated with it)
create new models dynamically over RPC

Warning

“custom” model names must start with x_
the state must be provided and manual, otherwise the model will not be loaded
it is not possible to add new methods to a custom model, only fields

a custom model will initially contain only the “built-in” fields available on all models:

Python 3
PHP
Ruby
Java

models.execute_kw(db, uid, password, 'ir.model', 'create', [{
    'name': "Custom Model",
    'model': "x_custom_model",
    'state': 'manual',
}])
models.execute_kw(
    db, uid, password, 'x_custom_model', 'fields_get',
    [], {'attributes': ['string', 'help', 'type']})

$models->execute_kw(
    $db, $uid, $password,
    'ir.model', 'create', array(array(
        'name' => "Custom Model",
        'model' => 'x_custom_model',
        'state' => 'manual'
    ))
);
$models->execute_kw(
    $db, $uid, $password,
    'x_custom_model', 'fields_get',
    array(),
    array('attributes' => array('string', 'help', 'type'))
);

models.execute_kw(
    db, uid, password,
    'ir.model', 'create', [{
        name: "Custom Model",
        model: 'x_custom_model',
        state: 'manual'
    }])
fields = models.execute_kw(
    db, uid, password, 'x_custom_model', 'fields_get',
    [], {attributes: %w(string help type)})

models.execute(
    "execute_kw", asList(
        db, uid, password,
        "ir.model", "create",
        asList(new HashMap<String, Object>() {{
            put("name", "Custom Model");
            put("model", "x_custom_model");
            put("state", "manual");
        }})
));
final Object fields = models.execute(
    "execute_kw", asList(
        db, uid, password,
        "x_custom_model", "fields_get",
        emptyList(),
        new HashMap<String, Object> () {{
            put("attributes", asList(
                    "string",
                    "help",
                    "type"));
        }}
));

{
    "create_uid": {
        "type": "many2one",
        "string": "Created by"
    },
    "create_date": {
        "type": "datetime",
        "string": "Created on"
    },
    "__last_update": {
        "type": "datetime",
        "string": "Last Modified on"
    },
    "write_uid": {
        "type": "many2one",
        "string": "Last Updated by"
    },
    "write_date": {
        "type": "datetime",
        "string": "Last Updated on"
    },
    "display_name": {
        "type": "char",
        "string": "Display Name"
    },
    "id": {
        "type": "integer",
        "string": "Id"
    }
}

`ir.model.fields`

Provides information about the fields of Odoo models and allows adding custom fields without using Python code

model_id: Many2one to ir.model to which the field belongs
name: the field’s technical name (used in read or write)
field_description: the field’s user-readable label (e.g. string in fields_get)
ttype: the type of field to create
state: whether the field was created via Python code (base) or via ir.model.fields (manual)
required, readonly, translate: enables the corresponding flag on the field
groups: field-level access control, a Many2many to res.groups
selection, size, on_delete, relation, relation_field, domain: type-specific properties and customizations, see the fields documentation for details

Like custom models, only new fields created with state="manual" are activated as actual fields on the model.

Warning

computed fields can not be added via ir.model.fields, some field meta-information (defaults, onchange) can not be set either

Python 3
PHP
Ruby
Java

id = models.execute_kw(db, uid, password, 'ir.model', 'create', [{
    'name': "Custom Model",
    'model': "x_custom",
    'state': 'manual',
}])
models.execute_kw(
    db, uid, password,
    'ir.model.fields', 'create', [{
        'model_id': id,
        'name': 'x_name',
        'ttype': 'char',
        'state': 'manual',
        'required': True,
    }])
record_id = models.execute_kw(
    db, uid, password,
    'x_custom', 'create', [{
        'x_name': "test record",
    }])
models.execute_kw(db, uid, password, 'x_custom', 'read', [[record_id]])

$id = $models->execute_kw(
    $db, $uid, $password,
    'ir.model', 'create', array(array(
        'name' => "Custom Model",
        'model' => 'x_custom',
        'state' => 'manual'
    ))
);
$models->execute_kw(
    $db, $uid, $password,
    'ir.model.fields', 'create', array(array(
        'model_id' => $id,
        'name' => 'x_name',
        'ttype' => 'char',
        'state' => 'manual',
        'required' => true
    ))
);
$record_id = $models->execute_kw(
    $db, $uid, $password,
    'x_custom', 'create', array(array(
        'x_name' => "test record"
    ))
);
$models->execute_kw(
    $db, $uid, $password,
    'x_custom', 'read',
    array(array($record_id)));

id = models.execute_kw(
    db, uid, password,
    'ir.model', 'create', [{
        name: "Custom Model",
        model: "x_custom",
        state: 'manual'
    }])
models.execute_kw(
    db, uid, password,
    'ir.model.fields', 'create', [{
        model_id: id,
        name: "x_name",
        ttype: "char",
        state: "manual",
        required: true
    }])
record_id = models.execute_kw(
    db, uid, password,
    'x_custom', 'create', [{
        x_name: "test record"
    }])
models.execute_kw(
    db, uid, password,
    'x_custom', 'read', [[record_id]])

final Integer id = (Integer)models.execute(
    "execute_kw", asList(
        db, uid, password,
        "ir.model", "create",
        asList(new HashMap<String, Object>() {{
            put("name", "Custom Model");
            put("model", "x_custom");
            put("state", "manual");
        }})
));
models.execute(
    "execute_kw", asList(
        db, uid, password,
        "ir.model.fields", "create",
        asList(new HashMap<String, Object>() {{
            put("model_id", id);
            put("name", "x_name");
            put("ttype", "char");
            put("state", "manual");
            put("required", true);
        }})
));
final Integer record_id = (Integer)models.execute(
    "execute_kw", asList(
        db, uid, password,
        "x_custom", "create",
        asList(new HashMap<String, Object>() {{
            put("x_name", "test record");
        }})
));

client.execute(
    "execute_kw", asList(
        db, uid, password,
        "x_custom", "read",
        asList(asList(record_id))
));

[
    {
        "create_uid": [1, "Administrator"],
        "x_name": "test record",
        "__last_update": "2014-11-12 16:32:13",
        "write_uid": [1, "Administrator"],
        "write_date": "2014-11-12 16:32:13",
        "create_date": "2014-11-12 16:32:13",
        "id": 1,
        "display_name": "test record"
    }
]