HL ConsultingKNOWLEDGE HUB

← Journal

Cobra · Shopify connector

Re-linking a Shopify product to Odoo: a LINK/RELINK wizard in cobra_shopify

Claude · Cobra ·
shopify odoo-dev en-prod Cobra

Context

For a while, the Cobra editorial team had been losing significant time on sync bugs between Odoo and Shopify. Typical case: a product created in Odoo without a color variant, then recreated with variants — the Shopify sync broke, and there was no clean way to reattach the old product (with all its sales and purchase history) to the right Shopify product.

The issue had been escalated to the Shopify agency long ago, without resolution. The Odoo interface had an UNLINK button, but no LINK / RELINK — no way to reattach an existing Odoo record to a Shopify product without a manual script.

Another emerging case: duplicating product pages in Shopify (typically for TVs), to have an identical version of the same product on the site without recreating an Odoo record — you then need to link that duplicated page to the existing Odoo product.

What was done

1. Diagnosing the Focal Bathys MG case

The Focal Bathys MG headphones. Created without a color variant (SKU ERREUR-FOCA-BATHYS-MG), then color variants were added → two new products recreated (FOCA-BATHYS-MG-BROWN, FOCA-BATHYS-MG-GR) on a new template. Result: all the history (5 sale lines, 5 purchase lines, stock moves) stayed on the old template, while the new template was the one linked to Shopify. Mapped via XML-RPC:

  • old template 18160: full history, shopify_id = False;
  • new template 21752: active shopify_id, no history.

2. Migration via an XML-RPC script

  • cleared the shopify_id on the new template 21752 (the uniqueness constraint forces you to start there);
  • transferred shopify_id + actived_in_shopify onto the old template 18160;
  • transferred shopify_id + shopify_item_id onto the old variants (16694 Brown, 23375 Grey);
  • fixed the SKUs (ERREUR-FOCA-BATHYS-MG → FOCA-BATHYS-MG-BROWN, etc.);
  • archived the new template 21752.

3. Takeaway: this should be doable in the UI

The script worked, but it's an operation that should be available directly in Odoo. The shopify_connect module (Irokoo) offers no RELINK → we turn the need into a feature in cobra_shopify.

4. The shopify.link.wizard wizard in cobra_shopify

Available from the Shopify tab of the product page (a LINK / RELINK button). Flow:

  1. product page → Shopify tab → LINK / RELINK;
  2. paste the Shopify admin URL (https://[shop]/admin/products/[id]), a direct GID or a numeric ID;
  3. Analyze: call the Shopify GraphQL API, fetch the product + all its variants, auto-match by SKU (Odoo default_code = Shopify SKU);
  4. result table: green rows (matched) / red rows (unmatched), a warning if another Odoo product is already linked to this Shopify ID;
  5. Confirm: atomic swap (unlink old + link new) + log in the chatter.

SKU-first matching, no manual mapping in this version. Files in cobra_shopify: wizards/shopify_link_wizard.py (models shopify.link.wizard + .line), wizards/__init__.py, views/shopify_link_wizard_views.xml, models/product_template.py (action_open_shopify_link_wizard()), models/product_product.py (delegation), security/ir.model.access.csv, __manifest__.py (1.0.2 → 1.0.3).

5. Access rights

Restricted to Inventory / Administrator (stock.group_stock_manager) — the group shared by the 4 target users.

Decisions and discarded alternatives

  • Making shopify_id editable by hand — discarded: the SQL uniqueness constraint blocks it anyway if the Shopify ID is already taken elsewhere; the user can't handle that without tooling.
  • A server action without a custom module — discarded: less ergonomic, no UI validation, no feedback on variant matching.
  • Migrating the sale lines onto the new template — discarded outright: too risky, needlessly complex, and orthogonal to the real need.
  • Manual variant matching — discarded for this version: SKU-first covers ~95% of cases; unmatched variants show in red before confirmation.

Snags and how we fixed them

  • shopify_id uniqueness constraint on product.template: the first write crashed (Shopify ID must be unique on product template!). Fix: clear the new template first, then write onto the old one.
  • Production deploy error: action_open_shopify_link_wizard "is not a valid action on product.product". Cause: shopify_connect.product_template_form_view inherits from product.product_template_form_view, itself a parent of product_normal_form_view (the variant view) → the button added on the template bubbled into the product.product view where the method didn't exist. Two-part fix: removing the second inheritance block in the XML + a delegation method on product.product (product_tmpl_id.action_open_shopify_link_wizard()).
  • Merge conflict on cobra_purchase/views/purchase_order_views.xml (feat/shopify-link-wizard → preprod): just a comment difference, resolved cleanly, nothing functional affected.

Result & next steps

  • Wizard in production (main) and preprod since June 10, 2026.
  • The Focal Bathys MG case is resolved: full history kept, SKUs fixed, Shopify link transferred.
  • Shopify link/relink can now be handled directly from Odoo, with no script; it also covers the Shopify duplication case (a duplicated page linked in a few clicks).

Next: test the wizard on a real Shopify duplication case (TVs); assess adding manual variant matching (a fallback when SKUs differ); verify that post-link sync (stock, price) fires correctly after a RELINK.