OpenERP Server Installation

Installing the required packages

Python 2.6 or later is required for OpenERP 6.1. It is built-in in Ubuntu version 10.04 and above. A few Python libraries are also required, as listed below.

On a Debian-based Linux distribution you can install all required dependencies with this single command:

apt-get install python-dateutil python-feedparser python-gdata python-ldap \
    python-libxslt1 python-lxml python-mako python-openid python-psycopg2 \
    python-pybabel python-pychart python-pydot python-pyparsing python-reportlab \
    python-simplejson python-tz python-vatnumber python-vobject python-webdav \
    python-werkzeug python-xlwt python-yaml python-zsi

• dateutil : provides powerful extensions to the standard datetime module, available in Python 2.3+.

  sudo apt-get install python-dateutil

• feedparser : universal Feed Parser for Python

  sudo apt-get install python-feedparser

• gdata : Google Data Python client library

  sudo apt-get install python-gdata

• ldap : LDAP interface module

  sudo apt-get install python-ldap

• libxslt1 : Python bindings for XSLT transformation library

  sudo apt-get install python-libxslt1

• lxml : lxml is the most feature-rich and easy-to-use library for working with XML and HTML in the Python language.

  sudo apt-get install python-lxml

• mako : fast and lightweight templating for the Python platform.

  sudo apt-get install python-mako

• openid : OpenID authentication support for servers and consumers

  sudo apt-get install python-openid

• psycopg2 : the most popular PostgreSQL adapter for the Python programming language.

  sudo apt-get install python-psycopg2

• babel : tools for internationalizing Python applications

  sudo apt-get install python-pybabel

• pychart : library for creating high quality Encapsulated Postscript, PDF, PNG, or SVG charts.

  sudo apt-get install python-pychart

• pydot : provides a full interface to create, handle, modify and process graphs in Graphviz’s dot language.

  sudo apt-get install python-pydot

• pyparsing : library for parsing Python code

  sudo apt-get install python-pyparsing

• reportlab : The ReportLab Toolkit is the time-proven, ultra-robust, open-source engine for programmatically creating PDF documents and forms the foundation of RML. It also contains a library for creating platform-independent vector graphics. It is a fast, flexible, cross-platform solution written in Python.

  sudo apt-get install python-reportlab

• simplejson : simple, fast, extensible JSON encoder/decoder

  sudo apt-get install python-simplejson

• vatnumber : module to validate VAT numbers for European countries

  sudo apt-get install python-vatnumber

• vobject : VObject simplifies the process of parsing and creating iCalendar and vCard objects.

  sudo apt-get install python-vobject

• pytz : World Timezone Definitions for Python

  sudo apt-get install python-tz

• webdav : WebDAV server implementation in Python

  sudo apt-get install python-webdav

• werkzeug : collection of utilities for WSGI applications

  sudo apt-get install python-werkzeug

• yaml : YAML parser and emitter for Python.

  sudo apt-get install python-yaml

• xlwt : module for reading/writing Microsoft Excel spreadsheet files

  sudo apt-get install python-xlwt

• zsi : Zolera Soap client infrastructure

  sudo apt-get install python-zsi

Downloading the OpenERP Server

The OpenERP server can be downloaded from the OpenERP website’s download page

Testing the OpenERP Server

If you only want to test the server, you do not need to install it. Just unpack the archive and start the openerp-server executable:

tar -xzf openerp-6.1-latest.tar.gz
cd openerp-6.1-*
./openerp-server

The list of available command line parameters can be obtained with the -h command-line switch:

openerp-server -h

Installing the OpenERP Server

The OpenERP Server can be installed very easily using the setup.py file:

tar -xzf openerp-6.1-latest.tar.gz
cd openerp-6.1-*
sudo python setup.py install

If your PostgreSQL server is up and running, you can now run the server using the following command:

openerp-server

If you do not already have a PostgreSQL server up and running, you can read PostgreSQL Server Installation and Configuration.

Creating a configuration file for OpenERP Server

You can start the OpenERP server with the -s option to create a configuration file with default options, then modify it. The configuration parameters are similar to the server startup parameters, so have a look at the output of openerp -h if you’re not sure what a given parameter does:

./openerp-server -s -c <config_file_path>
# now edit the config file at <config_file_path>
# and check the -h output for more details...
./openerp-server -h
(...)
# finally start the server with the desired config file
./openerp-server -c <config_file_path>

Default Configuration file

The default OpenERP configuration file is located in $HOME/.openerp_serverrc, that is a file named .openerp_serverrc in the home directory of the system user under which OpenERP runs. This is the default value for the -c startup parameter.