Odoo Shell Terminal

Version: 19.0.1.0.0 | License: OPL-1 | Author: Mihran Thalhath

Developed with the help of AI.

Browser-based Python shell and live log viewer for Odoo 19, accessible from the systray — no SSH or server access required.

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Table of Contents

• Features
• Warning
• Installation
• Usage
• Configuration
• Security
• Limitations

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Features

Feature	Description
Interactive Shell	Execute Python against the live env directly from the browser
Persistent Session	env, uid, user pre-bound; namespace survives across executions
Auto-repr	Single expressions print their value without needing print()
Live Log Viewer	Real-time server logs via SSE — no page refresh needed
Color-coded Logs	DEBUG / INFO / WARNING / ERROR / CRITICAL color-coded
Rate Limiting	30 executions per user per 60-second window
Audit Logging	All executed code logged with uid, db, and SHA-256 hash
Access Control	Requires Technical Administrator (group_system) — enforced by a server constraint
Debug-mode only	Systray icon only appears when Odoo is running in debug mode

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⚠️ Warning

The shell gives you direct, unrestricted access to the Odoo ORM and the underlying PostgreSQL database.

Database changes require an explicit commit

The shell session uses its own long-lived cursor that is not auto-committed. Write operations — create(), write(), unlink(), or raw env.cr.execute() — will not be persisted until you explicitly call:

env.cr.commit()

If you close or reset the session without committing, all changes are rolled back automatically.

What can go wrong

• env['res.partner'].search([]).unlink() + env.cr.commit() = all partners deleted, no undo
• Forgetting to commit = writes silently disappear
• Committing mid-script = database left in a partially updated state

Grant this group only to trusted Technical Administrators. Do not enable on production systems unless you fully understand the consequences.

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Installation

1. Copy or symlink odoo_shell_terminal into your Odoo addons path
2. Restart the Odoo server
3. Go to Apps, search for Odoo Shell Terminal, and install
4. Go to Settings > Users, edit the user, and assign the Odoo Shell User group
   • The user must already be a Technical Administrator — Odoo will raise a ValidationError if you try to assign the group to a non-admin user
5. Activate debug mode (?debug=1) — the systray icon is only visible in debug mode

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Usage

After installation, activate debug mode (?debug=1) and a terminal icon (>_) appears in the top-right systray. The icon is intentionally hidden outside of debug mode as an additional safety measure.

Tabs

Tab	Description
Shell	Python REPL against the live env
Logs	Real-time server log stream

Screenshots

Shell tab — Interactive Python REPL

Logs tab — Live server log stream

Shell examples

# Query records
env['sale.order'].search([('state', '=', 'draft')], limit=5)

# Modify a record — must commit to persist
partner = env['res.partner'].browse(1)
partner.write({'name': 'Updated Name'})
env.cr.commit()  # required

# Raw SQL
env.cr.execute("SELECT id, name FROM res_partner LIMIT 5")
env.cr.fetchall()

Use Reset Session to clear the namespace and start a fresh cursor.

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Configuration

No config file needed. Tune behaviour by editing constants in controllers/shell.py:

Constant	Default	Description
SESSION_IDLE_TIMEOUT	600 s	Idle time before session eviction
MAX_SESSIONS	3	Max concurrent sessions (LRU eviction)
MAX_CODE_LEN	10000 chars	Max code length per execution
RATE_WINDOW_SECS	60 s	Rate-limit window
RATE_MAX_REQUESTS	30	Max executions per user per window

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Security

Group	XML ID	Prerequisite	Access
Odoo Shell User	odoo_shell_terminal.group_shell_terminal_user	base.group_system (Technical Administrator)	Shell terminal + log viewer

How the prerequisite is enforced

A @api.constrains override on res.users raises a ValidationError at save time if you attempt to assign the Odoo Shell User group to a user who does not already belong to Technical Administrator (base.group_system). This is a hard server-side error — it cannot be bypassed from the UI.

ValidationError: User 'John' cannot be added to 'Odoo Shell User'
because they are not a Technical Administrator (Settings > Technical).
Grant Technical Administrator access first.

Debug-mode visibility

Even for authorised users, the systray icon is only rendered when this.env.debug is truthy (i.e. ?debug=1 or ?debug=assets in the URL). In normal mode the component returns nothing. All server-side checks remain active regardless.

Visible under Settings > Users & Companies > Groups in the Shell Terminal section.

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Limitations

• Multi-worker: Sessions are worker-bound. In multi-worker setups, requests may land on different workers, causing session loss. Use --workers=1 or gevent during development.
• Log viewer: Only captures logs from the worker handling the SSE connection. Configure a shared --logfile to see all workers.
• No autocomplete: Syntax highlighting and autocomplete are not yet supported.

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