Everjust Website Themes

EVERJUST Website Themes — Agent Skill

Reason about Odoo website themes on a live everjust.app (Odoo 19) tenant given the EVERJUST brand: what a "theme" actually is in Odoo (a staging→live copy mechanism, not a stylesheet), why the everjust brand deliberately is not one of those themes, how to lift an individual on-brand block from odoo/design-themes instead of activating a whole theme, and the narrow case where a full theme swap is safe. You operate through everjust_agent_mcp (generic ORM tools + the dedicated website_* tools). Everything runs as the connected Odoo user, so you need an admin / website-designer role — Odoo raises AccessError otherwise.

For how to open a session against the right tenant DB and what each tool returns, see [[everjust-agent-mcp]]. For the invariants you must not break (one-DB-per-tenant, COW, the /odoo debrand, per-tenant secrets, never self-escalate), read [[everjust-platform]] first. To actually edit a live page's arch, use [[everjust-website]] / [[everjust-website-snippets]] — this skill is about themes and where blocks come from.

When to use this skill

• "Pick / apply / preview a theme" on a tenant site — and decide whether that's even the right move (usually it is not; see the always-on section).
• Borrow one section from a design theme — lift a single theme.ir.ui.view block (a hero, a feature grid, a pricing table) from odoo/design-themes into a page.
• Diagnose "why are the brand fonts / monochrome colors always on" even though no theme is selected — because the brand is a Technical always-on asset layer, not a selectable theme (website.theme_id = False and it stays that way).
• Understand the theme.* staging models — theme.ir.ui.view, theme.website.page, theme.ir.attachment, theme.website.menu — and how button_choose_theme copies them into live ir.ui.view / website.page rows.
• Decide whether a full theme swap is safe (only on a fresh, empty per-tenant site — never on the connectdomain/TCSW marketing tenants).
• Prefer the on-brand alternative — reach for the s_cd_* snippets (everjust_website_snippets) rather than a design-theme block whenever an on-brand block already exists.

Do NOT use this skill for, and stop if the task is really:

• Editing a live page body / adding a section to an existing page — that's the QWeb arch, COW-forked via website_edit_page; see [[everjust-website]] / [[everjust-website-snippets]]. Themes are about where a new block/site comes from.
• Backend theme, fonts, tokens, palette (everjust_theme, everjust_brand_website SCSS) — those are compiled addon assets shipped in code and deployed with a module upgrade (-u). They are not theme.* staging rows and not MCP-editable.
• Registrar DNS / SSL / the Connect Domain PRODUCT — unrelated ([[godaddy-api]], and the app under Customdomain/app/).
• Installing / upgrading a module — button_choose_theme installs a theme module, which is a heavyweight registry operation; that's platform-ops, not routine content work (see Pitfalls).

The core mental model: an Odoo theme is a COPY mechanism, not a stylesheet

An Odoo "website theme" is a module in category Theme (category id 42 on this tenant — that's exactly what ir.module.module.get_themes_domain() filters on). It ships its design as staging records in theme.* models. When a theme is activated for a website (website → ir.module.module.button_choose_theme → _theme_load), Odoo copies each staging record into a live record bound to that website_id:

theme.ir.ui.view    --_theme_load-->   ir.ui.view      (the live QWeb templates/pages)
theme.website.page  --_theme_load-->   website.page    (the live URL↔view bindings)
theme.website.menu  --_theme_load-->   website.menu    (the live nav)
theme.ir.attachment --_theme_load-->   ir.attachment   (images / compiled assets)

The link between a live record and the staging record it was copied from is theme_template_id (live→staging, live-verified: ir.ui.view.theme_template_id → theme.ir.ui.view; website.page.theme_template_id → theme.website.page), and the reverse copy_ids (staging→live: theme.ir.ui.view.copy_ids → ir.ui.view; theme.website.page.copy_ids → website.page). _theme_unload (via button_remove_theme) deletes those copy_ids. So a theme is a library of blocks that get copied in, not a CSS file that gets swapped.

Consequence you must internalize: you almost never want to run button_choose_theme on a live everjust tenant. You want to copy ONE theme.ir.ui.view.arch out of a design theme and drop it into a page — a surgical lift, no theme activation, no registry churn.

Why the EVERJUST brand is NOT a selectable theme (it's an always-on layer)

Look at the live tenant: website.theme_id = False (no theme active), yet the brand fonts, monochrome palette, sidebar backend, and login styling are all present. That's by design. The brand ships as auto-installing modules in category Technical, not Theme:

The manifests say this out loud. From everjust_theme/__manifest__.py:

`# NOT "Theme": Odoo's website treats Theme-category modules as selectable site

themes and EXCLUDES their web.assets_frontend from a website's bundle unless that

theme is active … "Technical" keeps the brand layer always-on across backend AND

website frontend.`

So: the brand is code (SCSS + QWeb assets), always-on, not a theme.* row and not MCP-editable. website.theme_id is (and should stay) False. Do not "apply the everjust theme" — there is no such selectable theme, and picking a different design theme would fight the always-on brand layer, not replace it. To change the brand you edit the addon SCSS and redeploy (-u) — a code change, not a website op.

Where blocks come from: odoo/design-themes@19.0

The block source is Odoo's design-themes repo (odoo/design-themes, branch 19.0). On this tenant those modules are present on disk at /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/odoo/addons/theme_* — ~30 of them (theme_default, theme_clean, theme_graphene, theme_cobalt, theme_paptic, theme_aviato, theme_bistro, theme_orchid, …) — and all uninstalled (only mass_mailing_themes is installed, and that's for email, not the site). Because none is installed, theme.ir.ui.view and theme.website.page currently have ZERO rows on this DB. Their staging records only materialize when the theme module is installed.

The on-brand alternative (prefer this) is the s_cd_* snippets from everjust_website_snippets — live-verified module-global views (everjust_website_snippets.s_cd_hero, s_cd_features, s_cd_cta, s_cd_heading, plus the cd_snippets registration; all website_id=False, theme_template_id=False). These are built from the exact Connect Domain Tailwind classes, so a block dropped from here already matches the site. Reach for an s_cd_* block before a design-theme block — see [[everjust-website-snippets]] for the snippet triad and how to add more.

Key models (real fields, live-verified on the connectdomain DB)

Note (Odoo 19): web_editor is replaced by html_builder; on views/pages the group field is group_ids, and on res.users it is group_ids (not the legacy groups_id). Themes are copied by html_builder/website machinery; you don't edit theme options over MCP (those are OWL Plugin classes — [[everjust-website-snippets]]).

Recipes

Route each through everjust_agent_mcp against the tenant (in Claude Code the tools are namespaced mcp__everjust__<tool>). All run as the connected user and need Website Designer / Administrator. Confirm gating (from the MCP controller): delete and non-read call need confirm:true; create/update on theme.ir.ui.view / ir.ui.view / website.page are not confirm-gated (that's the website workflow) but theme activation via call button_choose_theme / installing a theme module IS a non-read call → needs confirm:true. Granting Administrator and writing secret config are hard-blocked regardless of role ([[everjust-platform]]).

1. Orient: is any theme active, and what design themes are available?

// tool: get  — the site's active theme (expect theme_id:false on everjust tenants)
{ "model": "website", "ids": [1], "fields": ["name","domain","theme_id"] }
// → theme_id:false  ⇒ NO selectable theme active; the brand is the always-on layer.

// tool: list_installed_modules  (or search ir.module.module) — see what themes exist
{ "model": "ir.module.module",
  "domain": [["category_id.name","=","Theme"]],
  "fields": ["name","shortdesc","state"], "limit": 200 }
// → the design-themes: theme_default/theme_clean/theme_graphene/… all "uninstalled".

If theme_id is set to something non-False on an everjust tenant, treat that as a misconfiguration to investigate, not a feature — the intended state is False + always-on brand. theme.ir.ui.view/theme.website.page having 0 rows simply means no theme module is installed (the normal state here).

2. PREFER an on-brand s_cd_* block over a design-theme block

Before touching any theme, check whether an on-brand block already covers the need:

// tool: search  — the on-brand snippet library (module-global, already brand-styled)
{ "model": "ir.ui.view", "domain": [["key","like","s_cd_"]],
  "fields": ["key","name","website_id","theme_template_id"] }
// → everjust_website_snippets.s_cd_hero / s_cd_features / s_cd_cta / s_cd_heading …

If one fits, use it — read its arch, drop it inside the target page's oe_structure via website_edit_page, and you're on-brand with zero theme involvement. Adding a new s_cd_* block is [[everjust-website-snippets]] recipe 5. Only fall through to a design-theme block (recipe 3) when no s_cd_* and no existing page section gives you the layout you need.

3. LIFT a single block from a design theme (the surgical, no-activation path)

You want one section's markup from, say, theme_graphene — without activating the theme. The staging rows only exist while the theme module is installed, and installing a theme is heavyweight (Pitfall #1). Two grounded options:

(a) Read the block from the theme's source on disk (preferred — zero registry risk). The theme modules live at /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/odoo/addons/theme_<name>/. Open the theme's view XML, copy the one <template>/<section> arch you want, then re-skin it to the everjust idiom — strip Bootstrap/theme utility classes and replace with the site's Tailwind vocabulary (mx-auto max-w-6xl px-6, font-display, text-stone-900) so it matches. Drop the reworked markup into the page with website_edit_page (keep the oe_structure wrapper + .cd-root scope). This lifts the layout idea, not the theme's styling — which is what you actually want, since the brand layer already supplies the look.

(b) If (and only if) the theme is already installed on the tenant, its blocks are live in theme.ir.ui.view, and you can read the arch over MCP:

// tool: search  — a specific staged block (only returns rows if a theme is installed)
{ "model": "theme.ir.ui.view",
  "domain": [["key","like","theme_graphene."],["type","=","qweb"]],
  "fields": ["name","key","mode","arch"], "limit": 20 }
// → copy the ONE block's `arch`, re-skin to the everjust Tailwind idiom, then:
// tool: website_edit_page  (COW-safe; see [[everjust-website]] recipe 2)
{ "url": "/landing", "arch": "<t …> …existing page with the re-skinned block… </t>" }

Either way: you copy an arch, you do not activate a theme. Never write the block into the shipped module view — website_edit_page COW-forks it (Pitfall #4).

4. Preview a theme WITHOUT committing (read-only inspection)

To evaluate a theme's look before deciding, do not install it on a live tenant. Read its intent read-only:

// tool: get  — the module's description/screenshots metadata
{ "model": "ir.module.module",
  "domain": [["name","=","theme_orchid"]],
  "fields": ["name","shortdesc","description_html","state","category_id"] }

Then inspect the actual block markup from disk under /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/odoo/addons/theme_orchid/ (via [[everjust-platform]] shell access), or spin the theme up on a throwaway sandbox DB, never the customer tenant. Presenting a theme choice is a decision to surface to a human, not to auto-apply.

5. Activate a FULL theme — only on a fresh, empty per-tenant site

A whole-theme swap is safe only when the site has no content to lose: a brand-new tenant DB whose website is still the default "My Website" (no ported marketing pages, no custom website.page rows, theme_id=False, nothing built yet). In that narrow case:

// 1) install the theme module (heavyweight — non-read call → confirm required)
// tool: call
{ "model": "ir.module.module", "method": "button_immediate_install",
  "ids": [<theme_module_id>], "confirm": true }
// 2) bind it to the website (this runs _theme_load, copying theme.* → live records)
// tool: call
{ "model": "ir.module.module", "method": "button_choose_theme",
  "ids": [<theme_module_id>], "confirm": true }

button_choose_theme copies every theme.ir.ui.view / theme.website.page / theme.website.menu / theme.ir.attachment into live website_id-bound records and sets website.theme_id. Reverse with button_remove_theme (confirm:true) — it runs _theme_unload, deleting the copy_ids it created. Do NOT do this on connectdomain / TCSW or any tenant with real content: it would fight the always-on brand layer, clobber the hand-ported Tailwind pages, and re-point the nav. On those tenants the answer is always recipe 2/3 (lift a block), never recipe 5.

6. Check whether a page came from a theme (and thus is safe to reset)

// tool: search  — live views/pages that were copied from a theme carry theme_template_id
{ "model": "ir.ui.view", "domain": [["theme_template_id","!=",false]],
  "fields": ["key","name","website_id","theme_template_id"] }
// On this tenant → 0 rows: nothing here came from a theme; every page is
// hand-authored (website_connectdomain) or an s_cd_* block. So there is no theme
// state to "reset to" — removing a theme is a no-op and editing pages is normal COW work.

theme_template_id != False on a live record means "this was copied from a theme and button_remove_theme would remove it." False (the case here) means it's genuinely yours — edit it via [[everjust-website]] / [[everjust-website-snippets]], don't treat it as theme output.

Pitfalls

1. button_choose_theme is a module INSTALL + bulk copy, not a stylesheet switch. It installs the theme module (registry reload) and copies every theme.* staging row into live website_id-bound records. That's a heavyweight, content-mutating operation — never routine content work, and never on a tenant with real pages. It's a non-read call → confirm:true required. Prefer lifting one block (recipe 3).

2. The everjust brand is NOT a theme — never try to "apply" or "switch to" it. It's everjust_theme / everjust_brand_website in category Technical, auto_install=True, always-on. website.theme_id is False and must stay False. Picking a design theme does not replace the brand; it fights the always-on asset layer. To change the brand you edit the addon SCSS and redeploy (-u) — a code change, not an MCP/website op.

3. theme.ir.ui.view / theme.website.page are STAGING, and are empty until a theme is installed. On this tenant they have 0 rows because no design theme is installed. Don't expect to read a theme's blocks from theme.ir.ui.view unless that theme module is actually installed — for uninstalled themes, read the arch from the module's XML on disk (/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/odoo/addons/theme_*).

4. Lift the ARCH, then re-skin — don't paste theme markup raw, and don't raw-write a module view. A design-theme block carries the theme's Bootstrap/utility classes; pasted as-is it renders off-brand (the block's own CSS isn't loaded unless the theme is active). Copy the layout, re-express it in the site's Tailwind idiom (font-display, text-stone-900, max-w-6xl), and write it back with website_edit_page (COW-forks a site-specific ir.ui.view). A raw update('ir.ui.view', …) on a shipped module view is not COW-safe and gets re-swept on -u ([[everjust-platform]]).

5. Prefer s_cd_* over any design-theme block. everjust_website_snippets ships s_cd_hero/features/cta/heading built from the real Connect Domain Tailwind classes — already on-brand, already draggable. Reach for a design-theme block only when no s_cd_* and no existing section covers the layout, and even then re-skin it.

6. theme_template_id tells you provenance; copy_ids is the reverse. A live ir.ui.view/website.page with theme_template_id set came from a theme (and button_remove_theme would delete it); False means it's hand-authored/s_cd_* and is normal COW-editable content. On this tenant 0 live views carry theme_template_id — nothing is theme-derived, so there's no theme state to reset.

7. inherit_id on theme.ir.ui.view is a reference field, not a plain m2o. It stores a model,id string (theme staging can inherit across theme models). Don't treat it like a normal integer FK when reading/filtering staging rows.

8. A full theme swap wipes/re-points content — safe ONLY on a fresh, empty site. On connectdomain / TCSW the pages are verbatim Tailwind-QWeb ports and the nav is hand-built; button_choose_theme would copy in the theme's pages/menu and collide with all of it while the brand layer stays on. Full activation belongs only to a never-configured tenant. For everything else: lift a block.

9. You act with YOUR role; theme ops are Administrator-level. Installing a theme module and button_choose_theme require admin; AccessError/refusal is a role signal, not a bug. Never grant base.group_system to a bot to work around it — it's hard-blocked and, on this fork, Administrator implies every app ([[everjust-platform]] rule 5). res.users groups are group_ids in Odoo 19, not groups_id.

10. This is html_builder (Odoo 19), not web_editor. Theme block options (the builder panel) are OWL Plugin classes you can't hot-load over MCP; you can author QWeb (ir.ui.view) but a new options .js needs an addon deploy. For block/option authoring see [[everjust-website-snippets]].

See also

• [[everjust-platform]] — the invariants (COW, /odoo debrand, everjust.public_website gate, re-sweep on -u, never self-escalate, admin = every app) that gate every theme/website op here.
• [[everjust-agent-mcp]] — connecting to the tenant + the generic search/get/create/update/call/list_installed_modules + website_* tools and their confirm gating.
• [[everjust-website]] — editing a live page's arch, nav, redirects, SEO, publish state (where a lifted block actually lands).
• [[everjust-website-snippets]] — the s_*/s_cd_* snippet triad, oe_structure drop zones, and "wrap-don't-rewrite" for the Tailwind marketing ports (the on-brand alternative to design-theme blocks).
• odoo/design-themes@19.0 — the upstream block source (on-disk at /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/odoo/addons/theme_*).