+ Earlier this week we showed you a speed run connecting Hermes Agent to Odoo via direct XML-RPC — + a dedicated Odoo user, direct API calls, no middle layer. That's the approach we recommend for production. +
++ But there's another way: the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Instead of the agent talking directly + to Odoo's API, an MCP server sits in between as a translation layer. The agent talks MCP, the MCP server talks + XML-RPC to Odoo. It's an open standard from Anthropic, adopted by Claude Desktop, VS Code, Cursor, and now + Hermes Agent. +
++ This speed run walks through the MCP approach in 5 steps. Clone, configure, connect, done. +
+ +Pro Tip: We covered the direct API vs MCP trade-offs in detail here. + TL;DR: Direct access wins on security, latency, and flexibility for single-ERP setups. MCP shines when your agent + needs to talk to many different tools through one protocol. Pick the right tool for your use case.
++ The architecture is simple: +
+Hermes Agent → MCP Protocol → mcp-server-odoo → Odoo XML-RPC
+ The MCP server (mcp-server-odoo by ivnvxd, 300+ GitHub stars)
+ exposes a set of tools — search_records, create_record, read_record,
+ count_records, inspect_model — that your agent can call. It runs locally on your
+ Hermes instance and communicates over HTTP (streamable-http transport).
+
You'll need an Odoo instance with XML-RPC enabled and an API key. Grab a free trial from + ODOO4projects.com if you don't have one.
+ +Integration — ODOO Community
+https://006-003-1d9183bb-8430-41a8-85a3-842b2b4d279d.odoo4projects.com/602e6ea0a0adda65b344a282495da3b05525f63f006-003-1d9183bb-8430-41a8-85a3-842b2b4d279d+ The MCP server runs on your local machine — the same server where Hermes Agent is installed. + It does not run on the Odoo server itself. +
+git clone https://github.com/ivnvxd/mcp-server-odoo.git
+cd mcp-server-odoo+ The repo has 315 stars, 144 forks, and 198 commits as of this writing. It's actively maintained and supports + Odoo 16.0+ with both standard (MCP module) and YOLO (direct XML-RPC) modes. +
+ +
+ The recommended way to run it is via uvx (from the uv Python package manager).
+ If you don't have uv installed:
+
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
+ That's it — uvx mcp-server-odoo handles the rest automatically.
+
+ Create a bash script that sets the environment variables and launches the MCP server in + YOLO read-only mode (no MCP module needed on the Odoo side): +
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+# Odoo MCP configuration
+export ODOO_URL="https://006-003-1d9183bb-8430-41a8-85a3-842b2b4d279d.odoo4projects.com/"
+export ODOO_DB="006-003-1d9183bb-8430-41a8-85a3-842b2b4d279d"
+export ODOO_USER="changeme@odoo4projects.com"
+export ODOO_API_KEY="602e6ea0a0adda65b344a282495da3b05525f63f"
+export ODOO_READONLY=1
+export ODOO_MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http
+export ODOO_MCP_PORT=8000
+export ODOO_YOLO=read
+
+uvx mcp-server-odoo
+ Save this as run-odoo-mcp.sh, make it executable (chmod +x run-odoo-mcp.sh), and
+ run it. The server starts on http://localhost:8000/mcp.
+
Pro Tip: YOLO mode (ODOO_YOLO=read) bypasses the need for the Odoo MCP module.
+ This is great for testing and speed runs. For production, install the
+ Odoo MCP module
+ on your Odoo instance and set ODOO_YOLO=off for full security controls.
+ With the MCP server running, tell Hermes Agent about it: +
+hermes mcp add odoo --url http://localhost:8000/mcp
+ This registers the MCP endpoint with Hermes. From now on, any Hermes session can discover the Odoo tools
+ automatically. The hermes mcp add command takes a name (we used odoo) and the
+ server's URL.
+
+ To verify it worked: +
+hermes mcp list
+ You should see odoo listed with status connected.
+
+ Start a Hermes session and ask your agent to work with Odoo: +
+hermes run+ Then in the chat, try something like: +
+Show me my 5 most recent leads from Odoo CRM.
+ The agent discovers the available MCP tools, calls search_records on the
+ crm.lead model, and returns the results. Same goes for partners, products, invoices,
+ sales orders — any model your Odoo user has access to.
+
| Aspect | +Direct API (Speed Run) | +MCP (This Post) | +
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | +~3 min (paste credentials) | +~5 min (clone + run server) | +
| Components | +None — agent talks directly to Odoo | +MCP server process + Hermes MCP client | +
| Latency | +1 hop (agent → Odoo) | +2 hops (agent → MCP → Odoo) | +
| Tool surface | +Full Odoo model access (any method) | +Predefined MCP tools (search, read, create, etc.) | +
| Multi-tool agent | +Each tool needs its own integration | +One protocol for all tools (GitHub, Slack, Jira, etc.) | +
+ In 5 steps and about 5 minutes, you connected Hermes Agent to Odoo through the Model Context Protocol. + Clone the repo, set the env vars, start the server, register with Hermes, and your agent can query + CRM leads, partners, products, invoices — anything your Odoo user has access to. +
++ Which approach should you use? +
++ Both work. Both connect your agent to live Odoo data. Both take under 10 minutes. The right choice + depends on your architecture. +
+ +Pro Tip: You can run both. Use MCP for the tools that benefit from a unified protocol + (docs, chat, code repos) and direct API for Odoo. Hermes Agent supports mixed setups — MCP tools and + direct integrations coexist in the same session. Pick the best connection for each backend.
+Deploy a Hermes Agent in 10 minutes with either MCP or direct Odoo integration. Use coupon code + BLOG950 for $9.50 off your first month.
+ Get Your Agent → ++ derez.ai — Deploy your AI agent in 10 Minutes. · + Direct Odoo API vs MCP · + Direct Odoo Speed Run +
+