Skip to Content

The OWL 2.0 Book

OWL is the framework Odoo's entire web client runs on. Its documentation is thin. This is the book we wanted when we started.

Start reading — free

Why this book exists

Every Odoo developer hits the same wall. The server side is well documented and widely discussed; the moment you need a custom widget, a dashboard, or anything that has to feel responsive, you are reading framework source code to work out what a hook does.

This book closes that gap. It is written by someone who has shipped OWL code in production Odoo databases, not from reading the changelog: what actually breaks, what the patterns cost you later, and which parts of the framework you can safely ignore.

What is inside

Part I — Foundations. Why Odoo moved from static pages to a modern UI, the JavaScript toolkit you actually need, and the modern language features OWL leans on.

Part II — Components. Your first component, rendering with QWeb templates, state and reactivity, props, event handling, and the lifecycle hooks.

Part III — Services and composition. Talking to the server with useService, Odoo's built-in services, advanced composition with slots, and global state.

Part IV — Production. Testing and debugging, TDD, the legacy-OWL bridge and migration strategies, and a look at what OWL 3 is bringing.

Every chapter

All 23 chapters, in reading order.

Opening

  1. Chapter 0: A Note From the Author
  2. Chapter 1: The "Why": From Static Pages to Modern UI

Part I — Foundations

  1. Chapter 2: Your Essential JavaScript Toolkit
  2. Chapter 3: Modern JavaScript Fundamentals, Part I
  3. Chapter 4: Modern JavaScript Fundamentals, Part II

Part II — Components

  1. Chapter 5: Hello, OWL! Your First Component
  2. Chapter 6: Rendering with QWeb Templates
  3. Chapter 7: State and Reactivity: Making Components Dynamic
  4. Chapter 8: Props: Parent-to-Child Communication
  5. Chapter 9: Handling Events: Child-to-Parent Communication
  6. Chapter 10: The Component Lifecycle Hooks
  7. Chapter 11: Modern Hooks - useEffect and useRef

Part III — Services and composition

  1. Chapter 12: Server Communication with useService
  2. Chapter 13 Part 1: Odoo's Built-in Services
  3. Chapter 13 Part 2: Advanced Service Patterns and Optimization
  4. Chapter 14: Advanced Composition with Slots
  5. Chapter 15: Global State Management with useStore

Part IV — Production

  1. Chapter 16 Part 1: Testing and Debugging Fundamentals
  2. Chapter 16 Part 2: Advanced Testing, TDD, and Production Debugging
  3. Chapter 17 Part 1: The Legacy-OWL Bridge - Understanding and Basic Implementation
  4. Chapter 17 Part 2: Advanced Bridge Patterns and Migration Strategies
  5. Chapter 18: OWL 3 — What's Next (in Alpha)
  6. Keep Building With OWL

How it is published

Free, one chapter at a time, on our blog. No paywall, no email gate. Each chapter stands on its own, and they are ordered so you can read straight through.

Read the chapters Ask us about Odoo