Time Machine

Time Machine is an Odoo 19 module that shifts Odoo's perceived current date and time by a whole-number month offset.

It is meant to be simple: move Odoo backward or forward by N months, and let time continue progressing normally from that shifted point.

Features

• Shift Odoo into the past or future
• Use a single month offset value
• Configure from Settings > General Settings > Time Machine
• Configure from ODOO_FAKE_TIME_MONTHS at startup
• Applies the shift immediately in the current process when settings are saved
• Shifted time continues to progress normally

How it works

The module uses the Python package time_machine to override the perceived current time inside the running Odoo process.

The shifted current datetime is computed as:

• real current datetime + month offset

Examples:

• -1 moves Odoo one month into the past
• +2 moves Odoo two months into the future
• 0 applies no shift

Configuration from Odoo Settings

After installing the module, go to:

• Settings > General Settings > Time Machine

Available options:

• Enable fake time: turn the shift on or off
• Month offset: negative for the past, positive for the future

Configuration from environment variables

You can configure the shift when starting Odoo with:

• ODOO_FAKE_TIME_MONTHS

Example:

export ODOO_FAKE_TIME_MONTHS=-1

Notes:

• If ODOO_FAKE_TIME_MONTHS is not set, the module does nothing at startup
• 0 is valid and means no shift
• The environment variable acts as an implicit enable flag

Dependencies

Python packages:

pip install time-machine python-dateutil

Important behavior notes

• Saving settings applies the shift immediately in the current Odoo process
• A full Odoo restart is still recommended after configuration changes
• In multi-worker setups, restart all workers so they all share the same shifted clock
• This module is best suited for demos, development, testing, and troubleshooting

Typical use cases

• Move Odoo to the previous month for accounting demos
• Move Odoo forward a few months to preview renewals or expirations
• Reproduce bugs that only happen around month boundaries
• Validate scheduled activities and date-based business flows

Technical note

The module initializes environment-based shifting in the module post_load hook and reapplies the shift when settings are saved through res.config.settings.