[19.0] ImportError in urls.py: _WHATWG_C0_CONTROL_OR_SPACE missing in Python 3.10.11 (Odoo 19)

[hra0123]

Odoo Version

• 17.0
• 18.0
• 19.0
• Other (specify)

Steps to Reproduce

1. Run Odoo 19 using Python 3.10
2. Observe ImportError:
   ImportError: cannot import name '_WHATWG_C0_CONTROL_OR_SPACE' from 'urllib.parse'

urllib3 version : 1.26.5 (Recommeded version for python3.10)

Log Output

ImportError: cannot import name '_WHATWG_C0_CONTROL_OR_SPACE' from 'urllib.parse'

Support Ticket

No response

[ShivaamShukla]

Possible Cause:
The error occurs because _WHATWG_C0_CONTROL_OR_SPACE was removed from urllib.parse in Python 3.11+.

Fixes to try:
1️⃣ Use Python 3.10
2️⃣ Install compatible urllib3 version:

pip install urllib3==1.26.5

3️⃣ If testing locally, define _WHATWG_C0_CONTROL_OR_SPACE manually as a temporary patch.

Tested on Odoo 19 Community Edition — works fine after using Python 3.10 + urllib3 1.26.5. ✅

[hra0123]

Thanks for the input! 🙏

Just to clarify — I’m already using Python 3.10 and urllib3 1.26.5 (the recommended combo for Odoo 19), but the error still occurs:

ImportError: cannot import name '_WHATWG_C0_CONTROL_OR_SPACE' from 'urllib.parse'

Interestingly, I found that adding this line in urls.py resolves the issue temporarily:

from urllib.parse import _WHATWG_C0_CONTROL_OR_SPACE
e_path = e_path.lstrip('/\' + _WHATWG_C0_CONTROL_OR_SPACE)

So it looks like the symbol is being referenced before it’s defined or imported.
This patch works locally, but it’s only a workaround — ideally Odoo should handle this import internally or ensure compatibility with Python 3.10+ where _WHATWG_C0_CONTROL_OR_SPACE may not exist.

Could someone confirm if this happens on a clean Odoo 19 + Python 3.10 environment?

[hra0123]

Update / Root Cause Identified ✅

After further investigation, the issue is related to a change in the Python standard library between Python 3.10.11 and Python 3.10.12.

🧩 Root Cause

In Python 3.10.11, the file urllib/parse.py does not include the constant _WHATWG_C0_CONTROL_OR_SPACE, which Odoo 19 imports in urls.py.
Example (Python 3.10.11):

Characters valid in scheme names
scheme_chars = ('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz'
'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ'
'0123456789'
'+-.')
Missing: _WHATWG_C0_CONTROL_OR_SPACE

In Python 3.10.12, the constant was restored:
Leading and trailing C0 control and space to be stripped per WHATWG spec.
== "".join([chr(i) for i in range(0, 0x20 + 1)])
_WHATWG_C0_CONTROL_OR_SPACE = '\x00\x01\x02\x03\x04\x05\x06\x07\x08\t\n\x0b\x0c\r\x0e\x0f\x10\x11\x12\x13\x14\x15\x16\x17\x18\x19\x1a\x1b\x1c\x1d\x1e\x1f '

Since Odoo 19 uses this constant in urls.py, running Odoo on Python 3.10.11 or lower triggers:

ImportError: cannot import name '_WHATWG_C0_CONTROL_OR_SPACE' from 'urllib.parse'

🧰 Solution

Upgrading to Python 3.10.12 (or later) resolves the issue without any code modification.

📌 Documentation Suggestion

The current Odoo docs state:

“Odoo requires Python 3.10 or later.”

For Odoo 19, it should be updated to:

“Odoo 19 requires Python 3.10.12 or later.”

This will prevent confusion for users running Python 3.10.11 or earlier.