How to install Odoo 20on Ubuntu, Windows, macOS and Docker

• Python

  Required

  3.12 or later

  The 20.0 requirements.txt also carries pins for Python 3.13 and 3.14.

• PostgreSQL

  Required

  16.0 or later

  Up from PostgreSQL 13 in Odoo 19.

• wkhtmltopdf

  For PDF reports

  0.12.6

  Not installed by pip. Needed for headers and footers on printed reports.

• pgvector

  AI features only

  PostgreSQL extension

  Works with PostgreSQL 15 and up, so any Odoo 20 database qualifies.

• rtlcss

  Right-to-left only

  Node.js package

  For Arabic, Hebrew and Persian interfaces.

• Ports

  Defaults

  8069 and 8072

  8069 serves the web client. 8072 carries live chat and notifications when workers are on.

Which operating systems meet the minimums out of the box?

The 20.0 requirements file is pinned against the Python packages in Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble) and Debian 13 (Trixie). Those two give a clean install with no extra repositories.

• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

  Ready

  Python 3.12·PostgreSQL 16

• Debian 13 (Trixie)

  Ready

  Python 3.13·PostgreSQL 17

• macOS with Homebrew

  Ready for development

  Python python@3.12·PostgreSQL postgresql@16

• Windows 10 and 11

  Testing only

  Python Installer·PostgreSQL Installer

• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

  Needs newer packages

  Python 3.10·PostgreSQL 14

• Debian 12 (Bookworm)

  Needs newer packages

  Python 3.11·PostgreSQL 15

1. Q1

   Where will it run?

   A laptop, a VPS, a container host, or Odoo's own cloud.

2. Q2

   How will it be installed?

   From source, from an official package, or as a container.

3. Q3

   What is it for?

   Development, testing, or production. Each needs different safeguards.

Four terms this guide uses

Source installation

Odoo running directly from a Git checkout with odoo-bin, instead of from an installed package. Odoo's documentation calls it the convenient choice for module developers: the code is directly accessible and several versions can run side by side.

Packaged installation

Odoo installed as a system service from a .deb, .rpm or Windows installer. The Linux packages expect PostgreSQL on the same host by default.

Odoo Enterprise

A set of additional addons that run on top of the Odoo Community server. It is not a separate server, which changes how you install it.

Filestore

The folder where Odoo keeps attachments and binary fields on disk. A backup that only covers PostgreSQL is not a complete backup.

cd ~/odoo20
git clone --branch 20.0 --single-branch https://github.com/odoo/odoo.git
git clone --branch 20.0 --single-branch https://github.com/odoo/enterprise.git
cd odoo
python3 odoo-bin --addons-path=../enterprise,addons -d odoo20

Licensing differences are covered in our Odoo Community vs Enterprise guide.

1. 1

   Download the installer

   Get the Community build from the nightly server (opens in a new tab), or any edition from the Odoo download page (opens in a new tab).

2. 2

   Run it

   On Windows 8 and later a "Windows protected your PC" warning may appear. Choose More info, then Run anyway.

3. 3

   Finish the wizard

   Accept the UAC prompt and go through the steps. Odoo launches automatically at the end of the installation.

4. 4

   Open Odoo

   Go to http://localhost:8069 and create your first database.

Developing custom modules on Windows

A source install works on Windows too: Python 3.12 from python.org with Add Python to PATH ticked, PostgreSQL 16, the Build Tools for Visual Studio when a dependency needs compiling, then the 20.0 clone and pip install -r requirements.txt. In practice, most Windows developers we work with run Odoo in WSL2 with Ubuntu 24.04 and follow the Ubuntu steps above.

services:
  db:
    image: postgres:16
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: postgres
      POSTGRES_USER: odoo
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: CHANGE_THIS_PASSWORD
    volumes:
      - odoo-db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

  odoo:
    image: odoo:20
    depends_on:
      - db
    ports:
      - "8069:8069"
    environment:
      HOST: db
      USER: odoo
      PASSWORD: CHANGE_THIS_PASSWORD
    volumes:
      - odoo-web-data:/var/lib/odoo
      - ./config:/etc/odoo
      - ./addons:/mnt/extra-addons

volumes:
  odoo-db-data:
  odoo-web-data:

docker network create odoo-net
docker volume create odoo-db-data
docker volume create odoo-web-data

docker run -d --name odoo20-db --network odoo-net \
  -e POSTGRES_DB=postgres -e POSTGRES_USER=odoo \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=CHANGE_THIS_PASSWORD \
  -v odoo-db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
  postgres:16

docker run -d --name odoo20 --network odoo-net -p 8069:8069 \
  -e HOST=odoo20-db -e USER=odoo -e PASSWORD=CHANGE_THIS_PASSWORD \
  -v odoo-web-data:/var/lib/odoo \
  odoo:20

• The official image reads HOST, PORT, USER and PASSWORD to find PostgreSQL, so those variable names are not arbitrary.
• Start the stack with docker compose up -d and open http://localhost:8069. Custom modules go in ./addons, which maps to /mnt/extra-addons, already on the image's addons path.
• For Odoo's AI features, swap the database image for pgvector/pgvector:pg16: PostgreSQL 16 with pgvector pre-installed.

Configuration, service, proxy and backups

Four files turn a working install into a production one. Each tab has the file and what to watch in it.

[options]
admin_passwd = CHANGE_THIS_MASTER_PASSWORD
db_host = 127.0.0.1
db_port = 5432
db_user = odoo
db_password = CHANGE_THIS_DB_PASSWORD
db_name = production
dbfilter = ^production$
list_db = False
addons_path = /opt/odoo20/odoo/addons,/opt/odoo20/custom-addons
data_dir = /var/lib/odoo20
logfile = /var/log/odoo20/odoo.log
log_level = warn
proxy_mode = True
http_port = 8069
gevent_port = 8072
workers = 5
max_cron_threads = 1
limit_memory_soft = 2147483648
limit_memory_hard = 2684354560
limit_time_cpu = 600
limit_time_real = 1200

[Unit]
Description=Odoo 20
After=network.target postgresql.service

[Service]
Type=simple
User=odoo
Group=odoo
ExecStart=/opt/odoo20/venv/bin/python /opt/odoo20/odoo/odoo-bin -c /etc/odoo20.conf
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

upstream odoo { server 127.0.0.1:8069; }
upstream odoochat { server 127.0.0.1:8072; }
map $http_upgrade $connection_upgrade {
    default upgrade;
    ''      close;
}

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name erp.example.com;
    return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name erp.example.com;
    ssl_certificate     /etc/letsencrypt/live/erp.example.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/erp.example.com/privkey.pem;
    client_max_body_size 200m;
    proxy_read_timeout 720s;
    proxy_connect_timeout 720s;
    proxy_send_timeout 720s;

    location /websocket {
        proxy_pass http://odoochat;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection $connection_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $http_host;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    }

    location / {
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $http_host;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_redirect off;
        proxy_pass http://odoo;
    }
}

sudo -u postgres pg_dump -Fc production > /backups/production-$(date +%F).dump
tar -czf /backups/filestore-production-$(date +%F).tgz /var/lib/odoo20/filestore/production

• "Outdated python version" or a syntax error on startup

  Cause:

  The shell is using Python 3.10 or 3.11.

  Fix:

  Create the environment with python3.12 -m venv, activate it, and check which python.

• psycopg2.OperationalError or "could not connect"

  Cause:

  PostgreSQL is not running, or the role or host is wrong.

  Fix:

  Run systemctl status postgresql, confirm the role exists, then check db_host and db_user.

• PostgreSQL version error when creating a database

  Cause:

  PostgreSQL 14 or 15 is installed.

  Fix:

  Install PostgreSQL 16 from the PostgreSQL apt repository, or move to Ubuntu 24.04.

• Port 8069 already in use

  Cause:

  Another Odoo instance is running.

  Fix:

  Find it with sudo lsof -i :8069, stop it, or start Odoo with --http-port 8070.

• ModuleNotFoundError for a Python package

  Cause:

  The wrong virtual environment is active.

  Fix:

  Run source venv/bin/activate, then pip install -r requirements.txt.

• PDF reports blank, or missing header and footer

  Cause:

  wkhtmltopdf is missing or the wrong version.

  Fix:

  Install 0.12.6 and check it with wkhtmltopdf --version.

• Custom module not found

  Cause:

  Wrong addons_path, a missing __manifest__.py, or file permissions.

  Fix:

  Check the path in the config file and the addons list Odoo prints at startup.

• Enterprise apps missing from the Apps menu

  Cause:

  The Enterprise path is listed after the Community addons.

  Fix:

  Put the Enterprise path first in addons_path.

• Data gone after docker compose down -v

  Cause:

  The -v flag deletes named volumes.

  Fix:

  Recreate the stack with named volumes and restore from your last backup.

• Live chat or notifications never arrive behind Nginx

  Cause:

  /websocket is not proxied to port 8072.

  Fix:

  Add the websocket location block and set proxy_mode = True.

• Source folder

  Odoo 19

  ~/odoo19/odoo

  Odoo 20

  ~/odoo20/odoo

• Python environment

  Odoo 19

  ~/odoo19/venv

  Odoo 20

  ~/odoo20/venv (3.12)

• Database

  Odoo 19

  odoo19

  Odoo 20

  odoo20

• Port

  Odoo 19

  8069

  Odoo 20

  8070

• Start with

  Odoo 19

  --http-port 8069

  Odoo 20

  --http-port 8070 --db-filter=^odoo20$

Self-hosting gives the most control and makes you responsible for operating system updates, PostgreSQL, backups, security, monitoring, deployment and disaster recovery. Our own website content is served from a self-hosted Odoo instance behind a reverse proxy, so it is the model we run ourselves, not only the one we recommend. For cost and control in detail, see Odoo Online vs Odoo.sh vs on-premise.

years with Odoo

13+

ERP projects delivered

150+

Odoo specialists

40+

countries served

35+

1. 1

   Environment audit

   Current version, Python and PostgreSQL levels, custom modules, third-party apps and hosting.

2. 2

   Build the tiers

   Development, staging and production, each with the safeguards it needs.

3. 3

   Move custom code

   Port your modules to the Odoo 20 framework and test them against real data.

4. 4

   Cut over safely

   A rehearsed go-live with a written rollback plan and backups verified first.

On an older version? Read whether to upgrade to Odoo 20 on release day, browse the Odoo 20 release notes, or see our Odoo upgrade services.