🧩 1. Follow Odoo’s Modular Architecture

👍 DO

Organize your customizations into clean, independent modules.
A well-organized codebase improves maintainability, debugging, and scalability.

👎 DON’T

❌ Don’t dump everything into a single module.
❌ Don’t modify core Odoo files under /odoo/addons/....

Editing base files breaks updates and introduces long-term maintenance nightmares.

🛡️ 2. Respect Odoo ORM — Avoid Unnecessary Raw SQL

👍 DO (Use ORM)

👎 DON’T (Avoid Raw SQL unless required)

Why it matters
✔ Maintains access rights
✔ Keeps record rules intact
✔ Ensures database portability
✔ Improves maintainability

⚡ 3. Optimize Loops & Avoid N+1 Query Problems

Nested loops are one of the most common sources of slow Odoo modules.

👎 Bad Example

👍 Best Practice (Using mapped)

✔ Faster
✔ Cleaner
✔ Makes use of Odoo's prefetching

🔐 4. Validate Business Logic with Constraints

Relying only on XML view validation is risky—API, imports, or external apps can bypass it.

✔ Use Backend Constraints

✔ Prevents wrong data from any source
✔ Maintains data integrity

🛑 5. Never Hardcode IDs or XML References

❌ Bad

✔ Correct

Hardcoding leads to broken deployments, demo/prod inconsistency, and upgrade issues.

🔓 6. Use sudo() Carefully

sudo() is powerful, but dangerous when misused.

✔ Correct Usage

❌ Wrong Usage

Bypassing all access rights in business logic models.

📉 7. Do Not Return Huge Payloads in Controllers

Large JSON responses slow down mobile apps, portals, and integrations.

❌ Bad

✔ Good

🧱 8. Write Upgrade-Safe XML Using XPaths

✔ Good Example

❌ Bad Example

Overwriting whole views or inserting brittle XPaths.

🔒 9. Always Configure Access Rights & Record Rules

Many modules fail because they only work for admin users.
Always define:

ir.model.access.csv
Record rules (if required)
Proper domain rules

Your module must work for real users—sales, HR, managers, portal users.

🔄 10. Use Compute Fields Smartly

Stored computed fields (store=True) should be used only when needed.

✔ Real-time compute

❌ Don’t store values unnecessarily

Leads to sync issues & heavy re-computations.

🪵 11. Use Logging (Not print)

✔ Good

❌ Bad

Logging provides structured information and debug history.

🧠 12. Senior Developer Tips

🚀 Use `.with_context()` to control behavior

🚀 Optimize Crons

Run batch jobs, not record-by-record operations.

🚀 Avoid overly complex `api.depends`

Keep compute logic light and specific.

🚀 Use Odoo Shell for debugging

🔐 13. Secure Odoo Controllers Properly

❌ Dangerous Public Endpoint (No Authentication)

✔ Safe (Token-based + Private)

💡 Clean vs Messy Code Example

❌ Messy

✔ Clean

Clean code = fewer bugs + better performance + happier customers.

In 2025, building scalable Odoo solutions requires much more than simply writing code — it demands clean architecture, modular design, security awareness, and performance optimization.

Following these Do’s, avoiding the Don’ts, and applying the advanced practices ensures your Odoo modules remain stable, upgrade-friendly, and ready for enterprise environments.

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Best Practice Tips for Odoo Developers in 2025 — Do’s & Don’ts