CDC-18 stabilisation: dashboard filters, menus, fr_FR translations

Context

The CDC-18 purchasing dashboard (live on May 24) had two problems: the buttons weren't activating the search filters, and renamed menus were still showing old FR names after the upgrade.

What was built

• Odoo 18 invisible filter fix: getSearchItems() excludes invisible="1" filters — replaced with direct access to searchModel.searchItems, pattern documented
• XML domain fix: removed ('picking_type_id','!=',False) (0 results); ilike 'Cobra' → not ilike 'Dropship'
• Immediate prod fix: ir.ui.menu.write() with lang=fr_FR via XML-RPC
• Permanent fix: 4 entries added to cobra_purchase/i18n/fr.po
• Bump 1.3.3 → 1.3.4; CLAUDE.md trap #8 + odoo18_menu_rename_translations.md memory

What was hard

• fr_FR translation trap: the XML-RPC API without a language context returned the correct names → false lead of "browser cache" for several exchanges. Private browsing forced the real diagnosis (separate translation layer, invisible without context={"lang":"fr_FR"})
• getSearchItems() silent failure: no error, successful call, empty array — undiagnosable without knowing Odoo 18 internals

Stack

OWL 2, XML-RPC Python, XML views Odoo 18 Enterprise, PO/gettext (i18n), Git worktrees.

What this illustrates

Layered debugging with methodical elimination of hypotheses (cache → neutral API → API with lang → separate translation layer), immediate prod fix without shell access, then permanent fix. Cross-session memory has real value.