How to Install Odoo 18 on Ubuntu 24.04 with Nginx & Free SSL

Odoo 18 brings significant improvements in performance, UI, and AI features. This guide will walk you through installing Odoo 18 on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS using a Python virtual environment, with Nginx as a reverse proxy and free SSL from Let's Encrypt.

📋 Prerequisites:

Ubuntu 24.04 server (minimum 2GB RAM, 20GB storage)
Domain name pointing to your server (for SSL)
Root or sudo access
Open ports: 80, 443, and 22 (SSH)

1. Update System & Install Dependencies

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y git python3-pip python3-dev python3-venv \
    build-essential libssl-dev libffi-dev libxml2-dev libxslt1-dev \
    zlib1g-dev libjpeg-dev libldap2-dev libsasl2-dev libpq-dev \
    libfreetype6-dev liblcms2-dev libopenjp2-7-dev libtiff5-dev \
    libwebp-dev libharfbuzz-dev libfribidi-dev libxcb1-dev \
    wget curl node-less npm postgresql postgresql-server-dev-all

2. Install wkhtmltopdf (for PDF Reports)

sudo wget https://github.com/wkhtmltopdf/packaging/releases/download/0.12.6.1-3/wkhtmltox_0.12.6.1-3.jammy_amd64.deb
sudo apt install -y ./wkhtmltox_0.12.6.1-3.jammy_amd64.deb
sudo ln -s /usr/local/bin/wkhtmltopdf /usr/bin
sudo ln -s /usr/local/bin/wkhtmltoimage /usr/bin

⚠️ Note: If you encounter dependency issues, run sudo apt --fix-broken install

3. Install Node.js for Asset Compilation

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs
sudo npm install -g less less-plugin-clean-css rtlcss

4. Create Odoo System User

sudo useradd -m -d /opt/odoo18 -U -r -s /bin/bash odoo18

5. Setup PostgreSQL Database

sudo systemctl enable postgresql
sudo systemctl start postgresql
sudo su - postgres -c "createuser -R -S -D odoo18"
sudo su - postgres -c "createdb odoo18 --owner odoo18"

6. Clone Odoo 18 Source Code

sudo su - odoo18
git clone https://www.github.com/odoo/odoo --depth 1 --branch 18.0 /opt/odoo18/odoo
exit

7. Create Python Virtual Environment

cd /opt/odoo18
sudo python3 -m venv odoo-venv
sudo chown -R odoo18:odoo18 /opt/odoo18
sudo su - odoo18
source /opt/odoo18/odoo-venv/bin/activate
pip install --upgrade pip
pip install wheel
pip install -r /opt/odoo18/odoo/requirements.txt
deactivate
exit

8. Create Custom Addons Directory

sudo mkdir -p /opt/odoo18/custom-addons
sudo chown -R odoo18:odoo18 /opt/odoo18

9. Configure Odoo Settings File

sudo nano /etc/odoo18.conf

Add the following configuration (change the admin_passwd to a secure password!):

[options]
admin_passwd = ChangeThisStrongPassword123!
db_host = localhost
db_port = 5432
db_user = odoo18
db_password = False
addons_path = /opt/odoo18/odoo/addons,/opt/odoo18/custom-addons
logfile = /var/log/odoo18.log
logrotate = True
proxy_mode = True

💡 Security Tip: Use a strong, unique password for admin_passwd. This password allows database management operations.

10. Create Systemd Service

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/odoo18.service

Add the following content:

[Unit]
Description=Odoo 18
Requires=postgresql.service
After=network.target postgresql.service

[Service]
Type=simple
SyslogIdentifier=odoo18
PermissionsStartOnly=true
User=odoo18
Group=odoo18
ExecStart=/opt/odoo18/odoo-venv/bin/python3 /opt/odoo18/odoo/odoo-bin -c /etc/odoo18.conf
StandardOutput=journal+console

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

11. Start Odoo Service

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now odoo18
sudo systemctl status odoo18

✅ Verify Odoo is running: Open your browser and go to http://your-server-ip:8069. You should see the Odoo database creation screen.

12. Install & Configure Nginx

sudo apt install -y nginx
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/odoo18.conf

Add this configuration (replace 'yourdomain.com' with your actual domain):

# Odoo upstream servers
upstream odoo {
    server 127.0.0.1:8069;
}

upstream odoochat {
    server 127.0.0.1:8072;
}

# HTTP redirect to HTTPS
server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

# HTTPS server
server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    listen [::]:443 ssl;
    http2 on;
    server_name yourdomain.com;

    # Proxy headers
    proxy_read_timeout 720s;
    proxy_connect_timeout 720s;
    proxy_send_timeout 720s;
    
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $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;

    # Log files
    access_log /var/log/nginx/odoo18_access.log;
    error_log /var/log/nginx/odoo18_error.log;

    # WebSocket for live chat
    location /websocket {
        proxy_pass http://odoochat;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    }

    # Main proxy
    location / {
        proxy_redirect off;
        proxy_pass http://odoo;
    }

    # Cache static files
    location ~* /web/static/ {
        proxy_cache_valid 200 90m;
        proxy_buffering on;
        expires 864000;
        proxy_pass http://odoo;
    }

    # Gzip compression
    gzip_types text/css text/less text/plain text/xml application/xml application/json application/javascript;
    gzip on;
}

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/odoo18.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

13. Install Free SSL Certificate (Let's Encrypt)

sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com

Follow the prompts to complete SSL installation. Choose option 2 to redirect HTTP to HTTPS automatically.

🔒 SSL Auto-Renewal: Certbot automatically sets up renewal. Verify with sudo certbot renew --dry-run

14. Configure Firewall (Optional but Recommended)

sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw deny 8069/tcp  # Block direct access to Odoo port
sudo ufw --force enable
sudo ufw status

15. Enable Multiprocessing for Production

For better performance, enable worker mode. Calculate workers based on your CPU cores:

# Check CPU cores
nproc

# Edit configuration
sudo nano /etc/odoo18.conf

Add these lines (adjust workers based on your server):

# Multiprocessing settings (for 4 CPU cores example)
limit_memory_hard = 2684354560
limit_memory_soft = 2147483648
limit_request = 8192
limit_time_cpu = 600
limit_time_real = 1200
max_cron_threads = 1
workers = 5  # (CPU_CORES * 2) + 1

sudo systemctl restart odoo18

16. Verify Installation

Open your browser and visit https://yourdomain.com
You should see the Odoo database creation screen
Create your database and master password
Start using Odoo 18!

🎉 Success! Odoo 18 is now installed on your Ubuntu 24.04 server with Nginx and free SSL.

Useful Odoo Management Commands

# Service management
sudo systemctl restart odoo18
sudo systemctl stop odoo18
sudo systemctl start odoo18
sudo systemctl status odoo18

# View logs
sudo journalctl -u odoo18 -f
sudo tail -f /var/log/odoo18.log

# Nginx management
sudo systemctl restart nginx
sudo nginx -t
sudo journalctl -u nginx -f

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Odoo won't start - port already in use

sudo netstat -tlnp | grep 8069
sudo systemctl stop odoo18
sudo systemctl start odoo18

Database connection error

sudo systemctl status postgresql
sudo -u postgres psql -c "\du"

SSL certificate not working

sudo certbot renew --dry-run
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Upgrading Odoo 18

sudo systemctl stop odoo18
sudo su - odoo18
cd /opt/odoo18/odoo
git checkout 18.0
git pull
source /opt/odoo18/odoo-venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
deactivate
exit
sudo systemctl start odoo18

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🚀 Install Odoo 18 on Ubuntu 24.04