Backend Theme for Odoo Community

Overview

The theme restyles the Odoo 18 backend (the internal web client) and adds the personalization features usually reserved for Enterprise:

• Dark mode (per user) — a true backend dark theme. Each user chooses Light, Dark, or Auto (follow system), and the choice is saved on their own account.

• Personal accent color — pick one of six ready-made palettes or any custom hex. Buttons, links, active menus, tabs, toggles and the selected status-bar stage all recolor live, with no recompiling and no administrator involved.

• Full-screen app grid with fuzzy search — a card grid of apps with a Fuse.js fuzzy search across apps and deep menus, full keyboard navigation and hotkeys.

• Drag-to-reorder apps — rearrange the home apps grid by drag & drop; the order is remembered per user.

• Pinned favorite apps — star the apps you use most and they float to the top of the grid.

• Fully responsive layout — a mobile-first layout for phone, tablet and desktop, a touch-tuned command palette and chatter, sticky control panel and list headers, roomier forms and a polished file viewer.

Every appearance choice is stored on the user's own record (res.users) and is exposed to the web client at login, so the theme is applied before the first paint — there is no flash of the old style on reload.

Requirements

Installation

1. Copy bambooforge_backend_theme into your Odoo addons path.

2. Restart the Odoo service.

3. Open Apps, click Update Apps List, search for bambooforge_backend_theme and press Activate / Install. The web and mail dependencies install automatically.

The theme applies automatically the moment it is installed: it is loaded as part of the backend asset bundle (web.assets_backend), so there is no switch to flip to "turn the theme on". On your next page load the backend already uses the new layout. From there, each user personalizes their own appearance (next section).

There is nothing to configure on a second platform — this is a self-contained Odoo theme with no companion app and no external service.

Options & personalization

Every option below is per user — your choice never changes anyone else's screen.

Dark mode

Backend Appearance has three values:

Value	Behavior
Light	The default. Standard light backend.
Dark	A true dark theme (dark backgrounds, light text) scoped so the light theme is never touched.
Auto (follow system)	Follows your operating system's light/dark setting and flips live when the OS setting changes.

The systray sun / moon button is the fast path: it toggles Light ⇄ Dark and persists the choice immediately — no need to open Preferences.

Accent color

The Accent Preset field offers six ready-made palettes plus Custom:

Preset	Hex	Notes
Seagreen	#1A7D4C	The default accent.
Ocean	#1F6FEB	A clear blue.
Violet	#7B3FE4	A purple accent.
Sunset	#E8590C	A warm orange.
Ruby	#C2255C	A pink/red accent.
Graphite	#3A4047	A neutral, low-key gray.
Custom	any hex	Keeps whatever color you set in Accent Color.

Picking a preset fills the Accent Color hex automatically; choosing Custom leaves the hex as-is so you can dial in any brand color with the picker. The accent drives the highlight color of buttons, links, active menus, notebook tabs, checkboxes, switches, the focused search box and the selected status-bar stage. Recoloring happens live — the bundle is compiled once and the color is applied at runtime as a CSS variable, so there is no SCSS recompile and no administrator step.

While you drag the color picker, the whole backend previews the color live; it is saved to your account only when you save the Preferences form.

Usage

The apps menu

Click the apps / home button in the top-left to open a full-screen card grid of every app you can access.

• Fuzzy search — start typing in the search box at the top. It searches across app names and their deep menu entries with a forgiving (fuzzy) match, so a near-miss or typo still finds the menu. Results update as you type.

  

• Keyboard navigation — use the arrow keys to move between cards and Esc to close the grid, so you can drive the launcher without the mouse.

Reorder and pin apps

• Drag to reorder — with the apps grid open, drag any card to a new position. The new order is saved to your account and used every time you open the grid. A newly installed app that has no saved position simply appears at the end.

• Pin a favorite — hover a card and click its star to pin it. Pinned apps float to the top of the grid (keeping their relative order); click the star again to unpin.

Both the personal order and the pinned set are stored on your own user record, so they follow you across devices and sessions.

On mobile

The layout is mobile-first: the navigation collapses for small screens, the control panel and list headers stay sticky as you scroll, and the command palette and chatter are tuned for touch. Dark mode and your accent apply on mobile exactly as on desktop.

Customization

For administrators who want to influence defaults:

• Default appearance for new users — the out-of-the-box defaults are Light appearance and the Seagreen accent. To start a user somewhere else, open Settings ▸ Users ▸ (the user) and set Backend Appearance, Accent Preset and Accent Color on their form.

• A company brand color — set the Accent Preset to Custom and enter your brand hex in Accent Color on each user (or as part of your user-provisioning template). Because the accent is a runtime CSS variable, no SCSS edit is needed for a brand color.

• Deeper SCSS changes — the dark palette and the accent surfaces live in static/src/scss/bf_dark.scss and static/src/scss/bf_accent.scss, and the full OPL-1 source ships with the module, so a developer can adjust the SCSS and rebuild the assets if a deeper restyle is required. The shipped behavior needs no such edit.

Note: appearance is intentionally per user. There is no single global on/off switch — the theme is always active once installed, and each user controls their own look.

Troubleshooting

Frequently asked questions

Which Odoo versions does it support? Odoo 18.0 Community Edition. It excludes the Enterprise web client by design.

Is this a website theme? No. It restyles the backend (internal web client) only. The public website is unchanged.

Do I have to switch the theme on after installing? No. It applies automatically as part of the backend assets. Each user then personalizes their own dark mode and accent.

Is each user's choice private? Yes. Appearance, accent, app order and pinned apps are all stored per user, so your settings never change anyone else's screen.

Which accent colors are available? Six presets — Seagreen (default), Ocean, Violet, Sunset, Ruby, Graphite — plus a Custom hex you can set with the color picker.

Where do I turn on dark mode? Either the sun / moon button in the systray (instant toggle) or Preferences ▸ Backend Appearance, where you can also choose Auto (follow system).

Can an admin set a company-wide brand color or default? An admin can set each user's starting appearance and accent on Settings ▸ Users. There is no single forced global color, because appearance is per user by design; for a brand color, set Custom + your hex on the users (or your provisioning template).

Does it work on phones and tablets? Yes. The layout is mobile-first, with a touch-tuned command palette and chatter, and dark mode plus accent apply on mobile too.

What happens when I uninstall it? Uninstall is clean and reversible — the backend returns to standard Odoo styling.

What support and refund policy do I get? Every request is answered within 24 hours. If you report a bug within 2 months of purchase and it is not resolved within 15 days, you are entitled to a full money-back refund.

Limits

• Community backend only. The theme targets Odoo 18 Community and excludes the Enterprise web client; it does not run side-by-side with Enterprise.

• Backend, not website. It restyles the internal web client; it is not a website or eCommerce theme and does not change the public-facing site.

• Personalization is per user. There is no single global theme switch or forced company-wide color; defaults are set per user.

• One backend theme at a time. Run only one backend theme; multiple themes that restyle the same web client will conflict.

Support & updates

• Support: support@bambooforge.dev — answered within 24 hours, setup help included.

• Refund: report a bug within 2 months of purchase; if it is not resolved within 15 days, you get a full refund.

• Full OPL-1 source is included. Updates track the supported Odoo 18 Community line.

Upgrading & version compatibility

This build targets Odoo 18.0. Each Odoo major series (17.0, 18.0, 19.0) has its own dedicated build of this module — always install the build that matches your Odoo version. Mixing a build with a different Odoo series is not supported.

Uninstallation

You can remove this module at any time from Apps → (this module) → Uninstall, or from the command line. Uninstalling is clean and reversible by reinstalling — but note what is and is not deleted.

Changelog