Migrate from Shopify to Odoo: Complete 2025 Guide

Integration Architecture and Data Flow

Core Migration Framework

Odoo 18 operates on an integrated data model that fundamentally differs from Shopify’s API-centric architecture. Your migration does not build a permanent bridge between two systems. You execute a one-time data transfer that maps Shopify’s e-commerce specific data into Odoo’s unified business application framework. This distinction shapes the entire project. You move data, not create a live sync.

The migration architecture follows an Extract, Transform, Load sequence. The Shopify REST Admin API serves as your extraction point. A middleware script, which you can host on a cloud function or dedicated server, handles the transformation logic. Odoo’s external API receives the transformed data and creates records in its database. This middleware layer becomes the control center for your entire migration.

Data Flow Patterns

Your data flows in sequential stages, prioritizing foundational records. You migrate products and categories first, because orders and customers reference them. The customer base migrates next. Finally, you transfer orders, their fulfillment status, and related financial transactions. This sequence prevents foreign key constraint violations in Odoo.

A separate process handles assets and SEO. You must download all product images, theme assets, and page content from Shopify. You then upload these files to Odoo’s filestore and reconfigure your website routes. This maintains your store’s visual identity and search engine rankings. Plan for significant bandwidth and storage during this asset transfer phase.

System Topology

A three-tier topology provides the most robust migration environment. Your production Shopify store remains the source. A staging server hosts your Odoo 18 test instance and the migration middleware. This isolation lets you run multiple test migrations without affecting your live business. You only point the migration scripts at your production systems during the final cutover.

The middleware script requires persistent storage for operation logs and error queues. Each API call to Shopify and Odoo must log its success or failure. This audit trail becomes your primary tool for diagnosing issues. Without detailed logging, you will struggle to identify which product variant or customer record caused a migration failure.

Step-by-Step Configuration

Shopify API Configuration

First, create a custom application in your Shopify admin panel. Navigate to Settings > Apps and development > Develop apps. Create a new app and configure its API scopes. You need comprehensive read access. Select scopes for read_products, read_customers, read_orders, and read_inventory. These permissions let your script extract the full dataset.

Install the app on your store and capture the Admin API access token. This token authenticates all your subsequent API requests. Store this credential in a secure environment variable, never in your codebase. Configure the API version to a stable, long-term support release. Avoid using the unstable unstable version for a production migration.

# Shopify API configuration example
import requests
import os

SHOPIFY_ACCESS_TOKEN = os.getenv('SHOPIFY_ACCESS_TOKEN')
SHOPIFY_STORE_URL = 'your-store.myshopify.com'
HEADERS = {
    'X-Shopify-Access-Token': SHOPIFY_ACCESS_TOKEN,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

def get_shopify_products():
    url = f"https://{SHOPIFY_STORE_URL}/admin/api/2024-01/products.json"
    response = requests.get(url, headers=HEADERS)
    return response.json().get('products', [])

Odoo API Connection

Configure Odoo’s external API by enabling the base webservice module. Odoo uses XML-RPC by default, but the JSON-RPC interface offers better performance for large datasets. Your connection requires the Odoo database name, your admin username, and the API key. You can find or generate this key in the Odoo user settings.

Establish a connection class that handles authentication and provides a reusable method caller. This class will manage your session and automatically handle the re-authentication required for long-running migration jobs. The following Python class demonstrates a robust connection pattern.

# Odoo JSON-RPC connection class
import xmlrpc.client

class OdooAPI:
    def __init__(self, url, db, username, api_key):
        self.url = url
        self.db = db
        self.username = username
        self.api_key = api_key
        self.uid = self._authenticate()
        
    def _authenticate(self):
        common = xmlrpc.client.ServerProxy(f'{self.url}/xmlrpc/2/common')
        return common.authenticate(self.db, self.username, self.api_key, {})
        
    def execute(self, model, method, *args):
        models = xmlrpc.client.ServerProxy(f'{self.url}/xmlrpc/2/object')
        return models.execute_kw(self.db, self.uid, self.api_key, 
                               model, method, *args)

Migration Script Structure

Build your main migration script as a modular pipeline. Create separate modules for products, customers, and orders. Each module should contain its own extraction, transformation, and load functions. This structure lets you test and debug each data domain independently. It also makes the migration resumable if one section fails.

Implement a configuration file that controls the migration scope. Use this file to set batch sizes, enable or disable specific data types, and define your start points for resuming failed jobs. A typical configuration might look like this YAML example.

# migration_config.yaml
migration:
  batch_size: 250
  enabled_modules:
    - products
    - customers
    - orders
  product_options:
    migrate_images: true
    skip_draft_products: true
  order_filters:
    start_date: '2023-01-01'
    financial_status: paid

Data Pagination Handling

Shopify’s API paginates all list endpoints. Your script must handle this pagination to extract complete datasets. Implement a recursive function that follows the Link header in the API response to retrieve all pages. The same pattern applies to Odoo’s search results when you need to verify data after migration.

# Pagination handler for Shopify API
def get_all_shopify_resources(resource_type):
    all_resources = []
    url = f"https://{SHOPIFY_STORE_URL}/admin/api/2024-01/{resource_type}.json?limit=250"
    
    while url:
        response = requests.get(url, headers=HEADERS)
        data = response.json()
        all_resources.extend(data.get(resource_type, []))
        
        # Check for next page in Link header
        link_header = response.headers.get('Link', '')
        next_link = [link for link in link_header.split(', ') 
                    if 'rel="next"' in link]
        url = next_link[0].split(';')[0].strip('<>') if next_link else None
        
    return all_resources

Data Mapping and Transformation

Product Data Model Conversion

Shopify products present the most complex mapping challenge. You must convert Shopify’s product -> variant hierarchy into Odoo’s product template -> product product structure. A Shopify product with multiple variants becomes one product template with multiple product variants in Odoo. The transformation logic needs to handle attributes differently between the systems.

Map the Shopify product fields to Odoo’s product.template model. The title becomes name. The body_html description maps to description. The product_type becomes a category in Odoo’s product hierarchy. For variants, Shopify’s option1, option2, and option3 transform into Odoo’s product attribute value system.

# Product transformation example
def transform_shopify_product(shopify_product):
    odoo_template = {
        'name': shopify_product['title'],
        'description': shopify_product['body_html'],
        'type': 'product',
        'categ_id': _get_or_create_category(shopify_product['product_type']),
        'attribute_line_ids': _create_attribute_lines(shopify_product)
    }
    return odoo_template

def _create_attribute_lines(shopify_product):
    attribute_lines = []
    for option in shopify_product.get('options', []):
        attribute = _get_or_create_attribute(option['name'])
        values = _get_or_create_attribute_values(attribute, option)
        attribute_lines.append((0, 0, {
            'attribute_id': attribute,
            'value_ids': [(6, 0, values)]
        }))
    return attribute_lines

Customer Data Transformation

Shopify customer records map to Odoo’s res.partner model with the customer flag enabled. The email address serves as the primary key for deduplication. Transform the first_name and last_name into Odoo’s name field. Shopify’s default address becomes the partner’s primary delivery address in Odoo.

Handle customer groups by converting Shopify tags into Odoo’s category system. This preserves your customer segmentation for marketing automation. The transformation should parse Shopify tags and create corresponding partner categories in Odoo. This maintains your email marketing lists and pricing rules.

Order and Inventory Mapping

Order migration requires careful financial state handling. Map Shopify’s financial_status and fulfillment_status to Odoo’s invoice and delivery order states. A paid order in Shopify becomes a confirmed sale order in Odoo with a posted invoice. A fulfilled order transfers as a done delivery order.

Inventory levels need special consideration. Shopify tracks inventory per variant at specific locations. Odoo uses a quant system that links products, locations, and quantities. You must create stock move records in Odoo that reflect your current Shopify inventory levels. This ensures accurate stock management from day one.

SEO and URL Preservation

Maintaining SEO value requires careful URL mapping. Shopify uses a /products/product-handle URL pattern. Odoo uses a configurable /shop/product-name structure. You must create URL redirects from your old Shopify patterns to the new Odoo routes. This preserves your search engine rankings during the transition.

Extract all meta titles and descriptions from Shopify products and pages. Map these to Odoo’s website SEO fields. The transformation script should preserve this SEO metadata to prevent search engine ranking drops. Implement 301 redirects for all changed URLs at the web server level post-migration.

Error Handling and Resilience

Common API Failure Patterns

Shopify’s API implements rate limiting that will disrupt your migration. The standard limit is 40 requests per minute per store. Your script must include exponential backoff and retry logic for 429 Too Many Requests responses. Without this, your migration will fail unpredictably.

Odoo’s XML-RPC interface can timeout on large data batches. The default timeout is 120 seconds, which may prove insufficient for complex product imports with many variants. Implement chunking to break large datasets into smaller batches. This prevents timeouts and makes failed batches easier to retry.

Data Validation Errors

Product data validation causes the most common migration failures. Odoo requires unique product template and variant combinations based on attributes. Shopify permits more flexible variant options. Your transformation logic must detect and reconcile these differences before the data reaches Odoo’s API.

Customer email duplication presents another validation challenge. Odoo enforces unique email addresses for partners marked as customers. Your migration must handle cases where the same email exists in Shopify with different capitalization or additional spaces. Implement email normalization before attempting to create records.

Error Recovery Procedures

Design your migration around idempotency - the ability to run the same operation multiple times without duplicate side effects. Use Shopify’s record IDs as external references in Odoo. This lets your script detect which records already migrated and skip or update them accordingly.

Build a comprehensive error queue system. When a record fails to migrate, capture the error message, the source data, and the transformation result. Log this information to a separate database table or file. This error queue becomes your troubleshooting guide and lets you reprocess failed records after fixing the root cause.

Connection Failure Handling

Network interruptions will occur during large migrations. Implement resumable migration checkpoints that save progress every 100 records. Your script should track the last successful record ID for each data type. When resuming after a failure, the script can continue from the last checkpoint instead of starting over.

Handle Odoo database restarts and maintenance windows gracefully. Catch connection exceptions and implement a retry mechanism with increasing delays. A well-designed migration script survives temporary service interruptions without human intervention.

Testing and Validation

Staging Environment Strategy

Establish a complete replica of your production environment for testing. Export a subset of your Shopify store data that represents all product types, customer segments, and order states. Include edge cases like products with multiple images, customers with multiple addresses, and partially refunded orders.

Execute multiple test migrations with this dataset. Measure the time required for each data type. This provides performance benchmarks for your production migration window. Verify that all data relationships preserved correctly in Odoo - products link to proper categories, orders reference correct customers, and inventory levels match.

Data Validation Checklists

Create validation checklists for each major data domain. For products, verify that variant counts match, prices transferred correctly, and images display properly. For customers, confirm that addresses are complete and marketing preferences preserved. For orders, ensure financial statuses mapped correctly and order totals match exactly.

Implement automated reconciliation reports that compare record counts and key field values between the systems. These reports should highlight discrepancies for immediate investigation. A sample reconciliation check might verify that the total number of active products in Shopify equals the number of salable products in Odoo.

Business Process Verification

Testing extends beyond data transfer to business process validation. Place test orders through your new Odoo storefront and verify the complete order fulfillment workflow. Confirm that inventory levels deduct correctly, invoices generate properly, and shipping calculations match your expectations.

Test your integrated workflows, not just isolated data. Verify that a sale order creation properly updates inventory levels. Confirm that invoice posting affects accounting journals correctly. Ensure that customer service teams can access complete order history and customer information.

Performance and Load Testing

Assess Odoo’s performance with your full dataset before going live. Test page load times for product listings with your actual number of SKUs. Verify that search and filtering operations respond quickly. Check that the dashboard renders properly with your order history volume.

Simulate peak traffic loads to identify performance bottlenecks. Use load testing tools to emulate concurrent users browsing and purchasing products. This testing reveals infrastructure requirements before your launch, preventing performance issues during real customer traffic.

Security Considerations

API Credential Management

Secure your Shopify and Odoo API credentials throughout the migration process. Use environment variables or secure secret management services instead of hardcoded credentials in your scripts. Restrict API key permissions to the minimum required scopes, following the principle of least privilege.

Implement credential rotation as a security best practice. Generate new API keys for the migration project rather than reusing existing credentials. Revoke these keys immediately after the migration completes. This limits the exposure window for potential credential compromise.

Data Protection During Transfer

Encrypt data in transit between all systems. Use HTTPS for all API calls to Shopify and Odoo. If using intermediate storage like a database or cloud storage, enable encryption at rest. For particularly sensitive customer data, consider additional field-level encryption during the extraction and loading process.

Anonymize or pseudonymize personal data in your test environments. Your staging Odoo instance should not contain real customer information unless absolutely necessary. Use data masking techniques to preserve data structure while protecting customer privacy during development and testing.

Access Control Configuration

Configure Odoo’s access rights structure immediately after migration. Map your team roles to Odoo’s permission groups before allowing user access. Restrict sensitive financial and customer data to authorized personnel only. Audit these permissions regularly during the post-migration stabilization period.

Implement IP whitelisting for administrative access to your Odoo instance. Restrict database management functions to specific secure networks. These controls prevent unauthorized access during the vulnerable transition period when multiple team members require system access.

Performance Optimization

API Call Optimization

Reduce the number of API calls through batching and smart data fetching. Shopify’s API accepts certain related resources in a single request. For example, you can retrieve products with their variants and images together instead of making separate calls. This significantly cuts migration time.

Implement intelligent throttling that stays just below Shopify’s rate limits. Calculate your optimal request rate based on the 40 requests per minute limit. Add random jitter to your request timing to prevent sudden bursts that might trigger rate limiting.

Database Indexing Strategy

Odoo’s performance depends heavily on proper database indexing. Before migration, analyze which fields you will query most frequently. Common candidates include product SKUs, customer emails, and order dates. Work with your database administrator to create appropriate indexes for these fields.

Monitor database performance during test migrations. Use Odoo’s built-in profiling tools to identify slow queries. Optimize these queries before the production migration to prevent performance degradation with your full dataset.

Caching Configuration

Configure Odoo’s caching layers for optimal e-commerce performance. Enable the in-memory cache for product catalog data that changes infrequently. Configure appropriate cache expiration times for inventory levels that update more frequently. Use a content delivery network for static assets like product images.

Implement Redis or another distributed caching system for session storage and frequently accessed data. This reduces database load during peak traffic periods. Test your caching configuration under load to verify it improves response times without serving stale data.