Install Odoo 19 on Ubuntu 24.04 | Self-Hosting Guide

Self-hosting Odoo gives you full control over data, and custom modules. This guide walks you through a safe, maintainable install of Odoo 19 on Ubuntu 24.04, covering both Community and Enterprise editions, an easy CLI installer (install-odoo), configuration, HTTPS, your instance runs reliably in production.

Key references used: Odoo official docs (install paths & packaging), the install-odoo CLI project, and practical server-deployment tutorials.

Quick overview — what you’ll do

Prepare the Ubuntu 24.04 server (users, updates, firewall).
Install PostgreSQL and system packages.
Install Odoo 19 (two options: recommended manual/source method or quick CLI with install-odoo).
Configure systemd and Nginx reverse proxy with HTTPS.
Optionally add Enterprise addons (requires Odoo subscription and enterprise repo access). Odoo Source

Prerequisites (what you need before starting)

An Ubuntu 24.04 server (fresh or dedicated VM).
A non-root sudo user (recommended).
Minimum recommended hardware for small production: 4 vCPU, 8–16 GB RAM, 100+ GB SSD. Increase for many users/modules. (real world deployments often use 4+ GB RAM as absolute minimum).
Domain name pointing to the server (for HTTPS).
Odoo Enterprise: valid subscription and access to the enterprise addons / repository if you plan to enable Enterprise features.
(Optional but recommended) Node.js (for JS build assets) and wkhtmltopdf 0.12.6 for PDF headers/footers.

Option A

Quick install using the install-odoo CLI (fast & repeatable)

install-odoo is a CLI helper that automates many common tasks (user creation, PostgreSQL, dependencies, Odoo clone, systemd, nginx). It’s useful for a fast, consistent setup.

Install Node.js & npm (if not installed)

bash

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nodejs npm
# (Or install Node.js 18+ from nodesource for recommended node versions)

Run the installer (interactive)

npx install-odoo

npx install-odoo will prompt for options: Odoo version (choose 19.0), install Community or Enterprise, PostgreSQL config, domain, SSL (LetsEncrypt) options, etc. The tool supports Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04.

After completion:

The installer typically creates an odoo system user, clones the specified Odoo branch, sets up a Python venv, installs dependencies, configures systemd, and generates an Nginx config with HTTPS if you chose that option.
Verify service:

bash

sudo systemctl status odoo-server.service
# or check the service name printed by the installer

Notes:

The CLI speeds setup and is great for dev/test or small production — but review generated configs and secrets before going to production.
If you choose Enterprise, the installer may ask for your Enterprise repository credentials or expect you to have them available.

Option B

Manual (recommended for full control / production)

If you need precise control or must integrate custom modules, follow these manual steps.

System update and create user

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo adduser --system --home=/opt/odoo --group --shell=/bin/bash odoo

Install PostgreSQL and create DB user

sudo apt install -y postgresql postgresql-contrib postgresql-16-pgvector
sudo -u postgres createuser --createdb --username postgres --no-createrole --pwprompt odoo
# Follow prompts to set password for user 'odoo'

Install system packages & Python venv

sudo apt install -y git python3-venv python3-pip build-essential wget \
    python3-dev libxml2-dev libxslt1-dev libldap2-dev libsasl2-dev \
    libjpeg-dev zlib1g-dev libpq-dev nodejs npm node-less

sudo ln -s /usr/bin/nodejs /usr/bin/node

sudo npm install -g less less-plugin-clean-css

wkhtmltopdf (for PDF reports with headers/footers)

sudo wget https://github.com/wkhtmltopdf/packaging/releases/download/0.12.6-1/wkhtmltox_0.12.6-1.bionic_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i wkhtmltox_0.12.6-1.bionic_amd64.deb
sudo apt install -f

Clone Odoo 19 source and set up virtualenv

sudo -u odoo -H bash -c '
cd /opt/odoo
git clone --depth 1 --branch 19.0 https://github.com/odoo/odoo.git odoo-server
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install --upgrade pip
pip install -r /opt/odoo/odoo-server/requirements.txt
'

FOR ENTERPRISE ONLY

if you wanted to deploy the odoo enterprise you can clone it too.

sudo -u odoo -H bash -c '
mkdir -p /opt/odoo/enterprise
cd /opt/odoo/enterprise
git clone --depth 1 --branch 19.0 https://github.com/odoo/enterprise.git addons'

Note: To clone and install the Odoo Enterprise version, you must be an official Odoo partner and have authorized access to https://github.com/odoo/enterprise.

Create odoo-server.conf (example) and log directory

sudo nano /etc/odoo-server.conf

Paste the following content, adjusting the admin_passwd and other settings as needed:

[options]
admin_passwd = your_secure_password
db_host = False
db_port = False
db_user = odoo
db_password = False
addons_path = /opt/odoo/odoo-server/addons,/opt/odoo/custom-addons
; uncomment below if you are using odoo enterprise
;addons_path = /opt/odoo/odoo-server/addons,/opt/odoo/enterprise/addons,/opt/odoo/custom-addons
logfile = /var/log/odoo/odoo-server.log

workers = 4           ; tune per CPU and RAM
max_cron_threads = 1
limit_memory_soft = 2147483648  ; 2GB, tune based on RAM
limit_time_cpu = 60
limit_time_real = 120
db_maxconn = 64

Set workers to 0 for testing; for production set workers = (CPU * 2) + 1 as a baseline and tune.

Save and close the file. Then, set the appropriate permissions.

sudo mkdir -p /opt/odoo/custom-addons
sudo chown odoo:odoo /opt/odoo/custom-addons

sudo mkdir -p /var/log/odoo
sudo chown odoo:odoo /var/log/odoo

sudo chown odoo: /etc/odoo-server.conf
sudo chmod 640 /etc/odoo-server.conf

Create a Systemd Service File

sudo nano /etc/init.d/odoo-server

To manage Odoo as a service, create a odoo service file that allows you to start, stop, and restart the application easily.

Add the following content to the file:

#!/bin/sh
### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides: odoo-server
# Required-Start: $remote_fs $syslog
# Required-Stop: $remote_fs $syslog
# Should-Start: $network
# Should-Stop: $network
# Default-Start: 2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop: 0 1 6
# Short-Description: Enterprise Business Applications
# Description: ODOO Business Applications
### END INIT INFO


PATH=/opt/odoo/venv/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin
DAEMON=/opt/odoo/odoo-server/odoo-bin
VENV=/odoo/venv/bin/python3
NAME=odoo-server
DESC=odoo-server

# Specify the user under which the Odoo service will run
USER=odoo

# Path to the Odoo configuration file
CONFIGFILE="/etc/odoo-server.conf"

# PID file location
PIDFILE=/var/run/${NAME}.pid

# Additional options that are passed to the Daemon
DAEMON_OPTS="-c $CONFIGFILE"

# Check if the DAEMON executable exists and CONFIGFILE is present
[ -x $DAEMON ] || { echo "DAEMON not found"; exit 1; }
[ -f $CONFIGFILE ] || { echo "CONFIGFILE not found"; exit 1; }

# Function to check if the PID file exists and if the process is running
checkpid() {
  [ -f $PIDFILE ] || return 1
  pid=$(cat $PIDFILE)
  [ -d /proc/$pid ] && return 0
  return 1
}

case "${1}" in
  start)
    echo -n "Starting ${DESC}: "
    start-stop-daemon --start --quiet --pidfile $PIDFILE --chuid $USER --background --make-pidfile --exec $VENV $DAEMON -- $DAEMON_OPTS
    echo "${NAME} started."
    ;;
  stop)
    echo -n "Stopping ${DESC}: "
    start-stop-daemon --stop --quiet --pidfile $PIDFILE --oknodo
    echo "${NAME} stopped."
    ;;
  restart|force-reload)
    echo -n "Restarting ${DESC}: "
    start-stop-daemon --stop --quiet --pidfile $PIDFILE --oknodo
    sleep 5
    start-stop-daemon --start --quiet --pidfile $PIDFILE --chuid $USER --background --make-pidfile --exec $VENV $DAEMON -- $DAEMON_OPTS
    echo "${NAME} restarted."
    ;;
  status)
    if checkpid; then
      echo "${DESC} is running."
    else
      echo "${DESC} is not running."
    fi
    ;;
  *)
    echo "Usage: $NAME {start|stop|restart|force-reload|status}" >&2
    exit 1
    ;;
esac
exit 0

or you can copy the it from the Odoo source (/opt/odoo/odoo-server/debian/init). make sure to update the paths according to your environment.

sudo chmod 755 /etc/init.d/odoo-server
sudo chown root: /etc/init.d/odoo-server

sudo update-rc.d odoo-server defaults

Start Odoo Service

sudo su root -c "/etc/init.d/odoo-server start"

at this point your odoo service will start and you will be able to access it from your IP address like http://your_server_ip:8069

Now we need to add the nginx reverse proxy to access Odoo from domain. make sure you have a domain/subdomain ready and DNS A record pointed to the server IP address.

Nginx reverse proxy & HTTPS (Let’s Encrypt)

Create an Nginx site that reverse proxies http://127.0.0.1:8069 and forwards WebSocket/longpoll requests for chat / live features (if you use longpolling or an external bus).
Use Certbot to obtain certificates:

sudo apt install -y nginx

sudo apt-get install -y snapd
sudo snap install core; snap refresh core
sudo snap install --classic certbot
sudo ln -s /snap/bin/certbot /usr/bin/certbot

create the nginx configuration file

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/odoo.conf

paste the below content (make sure to change the domain name)

#odoo server
upstream odoo_server {
 server 127.0.0.1:8069;
}
upstream odoo_server_chat {
 server 127.0.0.1:8072;
}

map $http_upgrade $connection_upgrade {
  default upgrade;
  ''      close;
}

server {

 listen 80;
 server_name yourdmoain.com www.yourdmoain.com;
 proxy_read_timeout 900s;
 proxy_connect_timeout 900s;
 proxy_send_timeout 900s;
 add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN";
 add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block";
 proxy_set_header X-Client-IP $remote_addr;
 proxy_set_header HTTP_X_FORWARDED_HOST $remote_addr;
 
 # Add Headers for odoo proxy mode
 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;
 underscores_in_headers on;

 # increase proxy buffer size
 proxy_buffers   16  64k;
 proxy_buffer_size   128k;

 # force timeouts if the backend dies
 proxy_next_upstream error   timeout invalid_header  http_500    http_502
 http_503;

 types {
   text/less less;
   text/scss scss;
 }

 # log
 access_log /var/log/nginx/odoo_access.log;
 error_log /var/log/nginx/odoo_error.log;

 # Redirect longpoll requests to odoo longpolling port
 location /longpolling {
 proxy_pass http://odoo_server_chat;
 }

 # Redirect requests to odoo backend server
 location / {
   proxy_redirect off;
   proxy_pass http://odoo_server;
 }

 location /websocket {
    proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
    proxy_set_header Connection $connection_upgrade;
    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;
    proxy_pass http://odoo_server_chat;
  }

 # enable data compression
 gzip    on;
 gzip_min_length 1100;
 gzip_buffers    4   32k;
 gzip_types  text/css text/less text/plain text/xml application/xml application/json application/javascript application/pdf image/jpeg image/png;
 gzip_vary   on;
 client_header_buffer_size 4k;
 large_client_header_buffers 4 64k;
 client_max_body_size 0;

}

save and exit the file. now we need to create the symbolic link to the odoo reverse proxy file. and check the configuration

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/odoo.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/odoo.conf
nginx -t

now we will acquire the ssl certificate using the certbot. (make sure to change the domain name)

sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdmoain.com www.yourdmoain.com

at this point you should access the odoo from your configured domain. open your domain on the browser and you should see the odoo database selector initially.

Additional checklist

Enable a firewall (UFW): Allow only essential ports — SSH (preferably on a custom port), HTTP (80), and HTTPS (443).
Restrict database access: Disable remote PostgreSQL connections unless absolutely required. Bind PostgreSQL to localhost or limit access within your private network (VPC).
Keep the system updated: Regularly apply OS and package updates to patch vulnerabilities and maintain stability.
Rotate and manage logs: Set up log rotation for Odoo logs to prevent large file sizes from consuming disk space. Use logrotate or systemd journaling rules.
Automate database backups: Schedule daily automated backups of both the PostgreSQL database and filestore. Test restores periodically to ensure data integrity.
Optimize PostgreSQL for Odoo: Tune key parameters like shared_buffers, work_mem, and effective_cache_size based on available RAM. Monitor performance regularly and adjust as workload grows.

While this guide gives you a strong foundation for self-hosting Odoo, building a fully optimized business management system takes deeper expertise. For professional Odoo implementation, custom module development, smooth data migration, and reliable deployment, partner with a team that knows Odoo inside out.
Contact Heliconia Solutions to turn your Odoo instance into a powerful, tailored platform that truly fits your business.