Odoo is a powerful open-source ERP software that includes a wide range of business applications, from CRM to inventory management. This guide will walk you through the steps required to install Odoo on an Ubuntu 22.04 server using root privileges. The installation process will be straightforward and easy to follow, making it accessible even for newcomers.
Step 1: Initiating Instance Creation
- Creating a New Instance
- To create a new instance, click on the blue “Create” button located in the top-right corner of the page.
- Select “Add New Instance” to begin setting up a new virtual machine.

Step 2: Choosing a Location
- Select a Data Center
- On the “Create New Instance” page, choose your preferred data center location. For example, you might select “Amsterdam, Netherlands”.

Step 3: Selecting a Plan
- Choose a Plan
- Pick a plan that meets your requirements. Options vary in specifications and price, from $3.5 to $22 per month, offering different CPU, memory, storage, and bandwidth.
- Choose an Operating System
- Scroll to the “Choose an image” section and select Ubuntu 22.04 from the list of available distributions.

Step 4: Authentication Method
- Select an Authentication Method
- Choose between SSH keys (recommended for better security) or a password for root access. In this guide, we’ll proceed with the password option.
- Complete Instance Creation
- Click the “Create Instance” button at the bottom of the page to finalize the setup.

Step 5: Connecting to Your Instance
- Retrieve SSH Credentials
- Note the IP address of your newly created instance from the Shape.host dashboard.
- Connect via SSH
- Open a terminal on your local machine and use the following command to connect to your instance:
ssh root@your_instance_ip
- Replace
your_instance_ip
with the actual IP address of your instance.
Prerequisites
- A server running Ubuntu 22.04
- Root access to the server
- Basic knowledge of terminal commands
Step 6: Update Your System
Before starting the installation, ensure that your system packages are up-to-date:
apt update && apt upgrade -y

Step 7: Install Required Dependencies
Odoo requires several dependencies to be installed on your server. We’ll start by installing Python and other necessary packages.
- Install Python and other dependencies:
apt install python3-pip wget python3-dev python3-venv python3-wheel libxml2-dev libpq-dev libjpeg8-dev liblcms2-dev libxslt1-dev zlib1g-dev libsasl2-dev libldap2-dev build-essential git libssl-dev libffi-dev libmysqlclient-dev libjpeg-dev libblas-dev libatlas-base-dev -y

- Install Node.js and npm (for asset management):
apt install -y nodejs npm

- Install wkhtmltopdf (for printing PDF reports):
apt install -y wkhtmltopdf

Step 8: Install and Configure PostgreSQL
Odoo uses PostgreSQL as its database backend. Install PostgreSQL and set up a database user for Odoo.
- Install PostgreSQL:
apt install -y postgresql

- Create a PostgreSQL user for Odoo:
sudo -u postgres createuser -s odoo

Step 9: Download and Install Odoo
We’ll download the latest version of Odoo from the official repository and install it.
- Clone the Odoo repository:
cd /opt
git clone https://www.github.com/odoo/odoo --depth 1 --branch 15.0 --single-branch odoo

- Create a Python virtual environment for Odoo:
cd /opt/odoo
python3 -m venv odoo-venv

- Activate the virtual environment and install required Python packages:
source odoo-venv/bin/activate
pip3 install wheel
pip3 install -r requirements.txt
deactivate

Step 10: Configure Odoo
We’ll create a configuration file for Odoo and set it up to run as a systemd service.
- Create an Odoo user (if not already created):
adduser --system --home=/opt/odoo --group odoo

- Change ownership of the Odoo directory (if not already owned by odoo):
chown -R odoo:odoo /opt/odoo

- Create an Odoo configuration file:
nano /etc/odoo.conf

Add the following content to the file:
[options]
; This is the password that allows database operations:
admin_passwd = admin
db_host = False
db_port = False
db_user = odoo
db_password = False
addons_path = /opt/odoo/addons
logfile = /var/log/odoo/odoo.log

- Create a log directory for Odoo and set permissions: If the directory already exists, simply set the correct ownership:
chown -R odoo:odoo /var/log/odoo

- Create a systemd service file for Odoo:
nano /etc/systemd/system/odoo.service

Add the following content to the file:
[Unit]
Description=Odoo
Documentation=http://www.odoo.com
[Service]
# Ubuntu/Debian convention:
Type=simple
User=odoo
ExecStart=/opt/odoo/odoo-venv/bin/python3 /opt/odoo/odoo-bin -c /etc/odoo.conf
[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

- Reload systemd to apply the new service:
systemctl daemon-reload

- Enable and start the Odoo service:
systemctl enable odoo
systemctl start odoo

Step 11: Access Odoo
Odoo should now be running and accessible. Open your web browser and navigate to your server’s IP address or domain name on port 8069:
http://your_server_ip:8069
You should see the Odoo database management screen, where you can create a new database and start using Odoo.


For hosting your Odoo ERP software, consider using Shape.host’s Cloud VPS services. Shape.host provides robust and scalable cloud solutions tailored to various needs, ensuring high performance and reliability for your Odoo application. With their Cloud VPS, you can easily scale resources as your application grows, providing an optimal user experience.