diff --git a/addons/web/models/models.py b/addons/web/models/models.py
index fe01ffe6938..31e5834d200 100644
--- a/addons/web/models/models.py
+++ b/addons/web/models/models.py
@@ -1,11 +1,14 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
-from datetime import datetime
 import babel.dates
 import pytz
 
-from odoo.tools.misc import DEFAULT_SERVER_DATETIME_FORMAT, DEFAULT_SERVER_DATE_FORMAT
 from odoo import _, api, fields, models
+from odoo.tools import lazy
 
+class IrActionsActWindowView(models.Model):
+    _inherit = 'ir.actions.act_window.view'
+
+    view_mode = fields.Selection(selection_add=[('qweb', 'QWeb')])
 
 class Base(models.AbstractModel):
     _inherit = 'base'
@@ -78,3 +81,35 @@ class Base(models.AbstractModel):
                 data[group_by_value][field_value] += 1
 
         return data
+
+    ##### qweb view hooks #####
+    @api.model
+    def qweb_render_view(self, view_id, domain):
+        assert view_id
+        return self.env['ir.qweb'].render(
+            view_id, {
+            **self.env['ir.ui.view']._prepare_qcontext(),
+            **self._qweb_prepare_qcontext(view_id, domain),
+        })
+
+    def _qweb_prepare_qcontext(self, view_id, domain):
+        """
+        Base qcontext for rendering qweb views bound to this model
+        """
+        return {
+            'model': self,
+            'domain': domain,
+            # not necessarily necessary as env is already part of the
+            # non-minimal qcontext
+            'context': self.env.context,
+            'records': lazy(self.search, domain),
+        }
+
+    @api.model
+    def fields_view_get(self, view_id=None, view_type='form', toolbar=False, submenu=False):
+        r = super().fields_view_get(view_id, view_type, toolbar, submenu)
+        # avoid leaking the raw (un-rendered) template, also avoids bloating
+        # the response payload for no reason
+        if r['type'] == 'qweb':
+            r['arch'] = '<qweb/>'
+        return r
diff --git a/addons/web/static/src/js/views/abstract_controller.js b/addons/web/static/src/js/views/abstract_controller.js
index 57b3771427b..ba00b4dbab7 100644
--- a/addons/web/static/src/js/views/abstract_controller.js
+++ b/addons/web/static/src/js/views/abstract_controller.js
@@ -456,7 +456,10 @@ var AbstractController = mvc.Controller.extend(ActionMixin, {
                 }
             });
         } else if ($target.attr('name')) {
-            this.do_action($target.attr('name'));
+            this.do_action(
+                $target.attr('name'),
+                data.context && {additional_context: data.context}
+            );
         } else {
             this.do_action({
                 name: $target.attr('title') || _.str.strip($target.text()),
diff --git a/addons/web/static/src/js/views/qweb/qweb_view.js b/addons/web/static/src/js/views/qweb/qweb_view.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..9e79ecf19d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/addons/web/static/src/js/views/qweb/qweb_view.js
@@ -0,0 +1,202 @@
+/**
+ * Client-side implementation of a qweb view.
+ */
+odoo.define('web.qweb', function (require) {
+"use strict";
+
+var core = require('web.core');
+var AbstractView = require('web.AbstractView');
+var AbstractModel = require('web.AbstractModel');
+var AbstractRenderer = require('web.AbstractRenderer');
+var AbstractController = require('web.AbstractController');
+var registry = require('web.view_registry');
+
+var _lt = core._lt;
+
+/**
+ * model
+ */
+var Model = AbstractModel.extend({
+    /**
+     * init
+     */
+    init: function () {
+        this._super.apply(this, arguments);
+        this._state = {
+            viewId: false,
+            modelName: false,
+            body: '',
+            context: {},
+            domain: [],
+        };
+    },
+    /**
+     * fetches the rendered qweb view
+     */
+    _fetch: function () {
+        var state = this._state;
+        return this._rpc({
+            model: state.modelName,
+            method: 'qweb_render_view',
+            kwargs: {
+                view_id: state.viewId,
+                domain: state.domain,
+                context: state.context
+            }
+        }).then(function (r) {
+            state.body = r;
+            return state.viewId;
+        });
+    },
+    /**
+     * get
+     */
+    get: function () {
+        return this._state;
+    },
+    /**
+     * load
+     */
+    load: function (params) {
+        _.extend(this._state, _.pick(params, ['viewId', 'modelName', 'domain', 'context']));
+
+        return this._fetch();
+    },
+    /**
+     * reload
+     */
+    reload: function (_id, _params) {
+        // FIXME: update this._state or something?
+        return this._fetch();
+    }
+});
+/**
+ * renderer
+ */
+var Renderer = AbstractRenderer.extend({
+    /**
+     * render
+     */
+    _render: function () {
+        var self = this;
+        return this._super.apply(this, arguments).then(function () {
+            self.$el.html(self.state.body);
+        });
+    }
+});
+/**
+ * controller
+ */
+var Controller = AbstractController.extend({
+    events: _.extend({}, AbstractController.prototype.events, {
+        'click [type="toggle"]': '_onLazyToggle',
+    }),
+
+    init: function () {
+        this._super.apply(this, arguments);
+        this._$buttons = $('<nav>').on('click', '[type="action"]', this.proxy('_onActionClicked'));
+    },
+
+    renderButtons: function ($node) {
+        this._super($node);
+        $node.append(this._$buttons);
+    },
+    _update: function () {
+        var self = this;
+        return this._super.apply(this, arguments).then(function () {
+            // move control panel buttons from the view to the control panel
+            // area
+            var $cp_buttons = self.renderer.$('nav.o_qweb_cp_buttons');
+            $cp_buttons.children().appendTo(self._$buttons.empty());
+            $cp_buttons.remove();
+        });
+    },
+
+    //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+    // Handlers
+    //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    /**
+     * Lazy toggle. Content is not remembered between unfolds.
+     */
+    _onLazyToggle: function (e) {
+        // TODO: add support for view (possibly action as well?)
+        var $target = $(e.target);
+        var $t = $target.closest('[data-model]');
+        if (!($target.hasClass('fa-caret-down') || $target.hasClass('fa-caret-right'))) {
+            $target = $t.find('.fa-caret-down, .fa-caret-right');
+        }
+
+        var data = $t.data();
+        if (this._fold($t)) {
+            $target.removeClass('fa-caret-down').addClass('fa-caret-right');
+            return;
+        }
+
+        // NB: $.data() automatically parses json attributes, but does not
+        //     automatically parse lone float literals in data-*, so a
+        //     data-args (as a json object) is very convenient
+        var args = data.args || _.omit(data, 'model', 'method', 'id');
+
+        return this._rpc({
+            model: data.model,
+            method: data.method,
+            args: data.id ? [data.id] : undefined,
+            kwargs: args // FIXME: context?
+        }).then(function (s) {
+            return $(s);
+        }).then(function ($newcontent) {
+            $t.data('children', $newcontent).after($newcontent);
+            $target.removeClass('fa-caret-right').addClass('fa-caret-down');
+        });
+    },
+    /**
+     * Attempts to fold the parameter, returns whether that happened.
+     */
+    _fold: function ($el) {
+        var $children = $el.data('children');
+        if (!$children) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        var self = this;
+        $children.each(function (_i, e) {
+            self._fold($(e));
+        }).remove();
+        $el.removeData('children');
+        return true;
+    }
+});
+
+/**
+ * view
+ */
+var QWebView = AbstractView.extend({
+    display_name: _lt('Freedom View'),
+    icon: 'fa-file-picture-o',
+    viewType: 'qweb',
+    // groupable?
+    enableTimeRangeMenu: true,
+    config: {
+        Model: Model,
+        Renderer: Renderer,
+        Controller: Controller,
+    },
+
+    /**
+     * init method
+     */
+    init: function (viewInfo, params) {
+        this._super.apply(this, arguments);
+        this.loadParams.viewId = viewInfo.view_id;
+    }
+});
+
+registry.add('qweb', QWebView);
+return {
+    View: QWebView,
+    Controller: Controller,
+    Renderer: Renderer,
+    Model: Model
+};
+});
diff --git a/addons/web/static/src/scss/webclient.scss b/addons/web/static/src/scss/webclient.scss
index 3dfebe8deed..436c8074302 100644
--- a/addons/web/static/src/scss/webclient.scss
+++ b/addons/web/static/src/scss/webclient.scss
@@ -182,3 +182,10 @@ div.o_boolean_toggle.custom-control.custom-checkbox {
         overflow-x: initial;
     }
 }
+
+//== Action manager
+// ensure special links are styled as pointers even when they don't
+// have an href
+[type="action"], [type="toggle"] {
+  cursor: pointer !important;
+}
diff --git a/addons/web/static/tests/helpers/mock_server.js b/addons/web/static/tests/helpers/mock_server.js
index 75f8afeeff2..85d3a8b8119 100644
--- a/addons/web/static/tests/helpers/mock_server.js
+++ b/addons/web/static/tests/helpers/mock_server.js
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ var MockServer = Class.extend({
      *
      * @param {Object} params
      * @param {string|Object} params.arch a string OR a parsed xml document
+     * @param {Number} [params.view_id] the id of the arch's view
      * @param {string} params.model a model name (that should be in this.data)
      * @param {Object} params.toolbar the actions possible in the toolbar
      * @param {Object} [params.viewOptions] the view options set in the test (optional)
@@ -78,6 +79,7 @@ var MockServer = Class.extend({
     fieldsViewGet: function (params) {
         var model = params.model;
         var toolbar = params.toolbar;
+        var viewId = params.view_id;
         var viewOptions = params.viewOptions || {};
         if (!(model in this.data)) {
             throw new Error('Model ' + model + ' was not defined in mock server data');
@@ -87,6 +89,9 @@ var MockServer = Class.extend({
         if (toolbar) {
             fvg.toolbar = toolbar;
         }
+        if (viewId) {
+            fvg.view_id = viewId;
+        }
         return fvg;
     },
     /**
@@ -506,12 +511,17 @@ var MockServer = Class.extend({
                 }
             }
             var key = [model, viewID, viewType].join(',');
-            var arch = self.archs[key];
+            var arch = self.archs[key] || _.find(self.archs, function (_v, k) {
+                var ka = k.split(',');
+                viewID = parseInt(ka[1], 10);
+                return ka[0] === model && ka[2] === viewType;
+            });
             if (!arch) {
                 throw new Error('No arch found for key ' + key);
             }
             views[viewType] = {
                 arch: arch,
+                view_id: viewID,
                 model: model,
                 viewOptions: {
                     context: kwargs.context,
diff --git a/addons/web/static/tests/qweb_tests.js b/addons/web/static/tests/qweb_tests.js
index b31c604b4bf..fbb710d8cfc 100644
--- a/addons/web/static/tests/qweb_tests.js
+++ b/addons/web/static/tests/qweb_tests.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-odoo.define('web.qweb', function (require) {
+odoo.define('web.qweb_tests', function (require) {
 "use strict";
 
 var qwebPath = '/web/static/lib/qweb/';
diff --git a/addons/web/static/tests/views/qweb_tests.js b/addons/web/static/tests/views/qweb_tests.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e9b7398fd09
--- /dev/null
+++ b/addons/web/static/tests/views/qweb_tests.js
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+odoo.define('web.qweb_view_tests', function (require) {
+"use strict";
+
+var qweb = require('web.qweb');
+var utils = require('web.test_utils');
+
+QUnit.module("Views", {
+
+}, function () {
+    QUnit.module("QWeb");
+    QUnit.test("basic", function (assert) {
+        assert.expect(13);
+        var am = utils.createActionManager({
+            data: {
+                test: {
+                    fields: {},
+                    records: [],
+                }
+            },
+            archs: {
+                'test,5,qweb': '<div id="xxx"><t t-esc="ok"/></div>',
+                'test,false,search': '<search/>'
+            },
+            mockRPC: function (route, args) {
+                if (/^\/web\/dataset\/call_kw/.test(route)) {
+                    switch (_.str.sprintf('%(model)s.%(method)s', args)) {
+                    case 'test.qweb_render_view':
+                        assert.step('fetch');
+                        assert.equal(args.kwargs.view_id, 5);
+                        return $.when(
+                            '<div>foo' +
+                                '<div data-model="test" data-method="wheee" data-id="42" data-other="5">' +
+                                    '<a type="toggle" class="fa fa-caret-right">Unfold</a>' +
+                                '</div>' +
+                            '</div>'
+                        );
+                    case 'test.wheee':
+                        assert.step('unfold');
+                        assert.deepEqual(args.args, [42]);
+                        assert.deepEqual(args.kwargs, {other: 5});
+                        return $.when('<div id="sub">ok</div>');
+                    }
+                }
+                return this._super.apply(this, arguments);
+            }
+        });
+        try {
+            var resolved = false;
+            am.doAction({
+                type: 'ir.actions.act_window',
+                views: [[false, 'qweb']],
+                res_model: 'test',
+            }).then(function () { resolved = true; });
+            assert.ok(resolved, "Action should have resolved synchronously");
+
+            var $content = am.$('.o_content');
+            assert.ok(/^\s*foo/.test($content.text()));
+            utils.dom.click($content.find('[type=toggle]'));
+            assert.equal($content.find('div#sub').text(), 'ok', 'should have unfolded the sub-item');
+            utils.dom.click($content.find('[type=toggle]'));
+            assert.equal($content.find('div#sub').length, 0, "should have removed the sub-item");
+            utils.dom.click($content.find('[type=toggle]'));
+
+            assert.verifySteps(['fetch', 'unfold', 'unfold']);
+        } finally {
+            am.destroy();
+        }
+    });
+});
+});
diff --git a/addons/web/views/webclient_templates.xml b/addons/web/views/webclient_templates.xml
index c42c547c0a7..bc2f849383a 100644
--- a/addons/web/views/webclient_templates.xml
+++ b/addons/web/views/webclient_templates.xml
@@ -318,6 +318,7 @@
         <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/static/src/js/views/calendar/calendar_quick_create.js"></script>
         <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/static/src/js/views/calendar/calendar_renderer.js"></script>
         <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/static/src/js/views/calendar/calendar_view.js"></script>
+        <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/static/src/js/views/qweb/qweb_view.js"></script>
         <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/static/src/js/widgets/attach_document.js"></script>
 
         <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/static/src/js/report/utils.js"/>
@@ -550,6 +551,7 @@
                 <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/static/tests/views/pivot_tests.js"></script>
                 <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/static/tests/views/kanban_tests.js"></script>
                 <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/static/tests/views/calendar_tests.js"></script>
+                <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/static/tests/views/qweb_tests.js"></script>
                 <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/static/tests/views/basic_model_tests.js"></script>
                 <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/static/tests/views/abstract_view_banner_tests.js"></script>
                 <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/static/tests/views/kanban_model_tests.js"></script>
diff --git a/doc/reference/views.rst b/doc/reference/views.rst
index 41a66050601..b372ce997c8 100644
--- a/doc/reference/views.rst
+++ b/doc/reference/views.rst
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ otherwise.
     only useful as a mnemonic/description of the view when looking for one in
     a list of some sort
 ``model``
-    the model linked to the view, if applicable (it doesn't for QWeb views)
+    the model linked to the view, if applicable
 ``priority``
     client programs can request views by ``id``, or by ``(model, type)``. For
     the latter, all the views for the right type and model will be searched,
@@ -1817,14 +1817,45 @@ QWeb
 ====
 
 QWeb views are standard :ref:`reference/qweb` templates inside a view's
-``arch``. They don't have a specific root element.
+``arch``. They don't have a specific root element. Because QWeb views don't
+have a specific root element, their type must be specified explicitly (it can
+not be inferred from the root element of the ``arch`` field).
 
-A QWeb view can only contain a single template\ [#template_inherit]_, and the
-template's name *must* match the view's complete (including module name)
-:term:`external id`.
+QWeb views have two use cases:
 
-:ref:`reference/data/template` should be used as a shortcut to define QWeb
-views.
+* they can be used as frontend templates, in which case
+  :ref:`reference/data/template` should be used as a shortcut.
+* they can be used as actual qweb views (opened inside an action), in which
+  case they should be defined as regular view with an explicit ``type`` (it
+  can not be inferred) and a model.
+
+The main additions of qweb-as-view to the basic qweb-as-template are:
+
+* qweb-as-view has a special case for a ``<nav>`` element bearing the CSS
+  class ``o_qweb_cp_buttons``: its contents should be buttons and will be
+  extracted and moved to the control panel's button area, the ``<nav>`` itself
+  will be removed, this is a work-around to control panel views not existing
+  yet
+* qweb-as-view rendering adds several items to the standard qweb rendering
+  context:
+
+  ``model``
+    the model to which the qweb view is bound
+  ``domain``
+    the domain provided by the search view
+  ``context``
+    the context provided by the search view
+  ``records``
+    a lazy proxy to ``model.search(domain)``, this can be used if you just
+    want to iterate the records and not perform more complex operations
+    (e.g. grouping)
+* qweb-as-view also provides additional rendering hooks:
+
+  - ``_qweb_prepare_context(view_id, domain)`` prepares the rendering context
+    specific to qweb-as-view
+  - ``qweb_render_view(view_id, domain)`` is the method called by the client
+    and will call the context-preparation methods and ultimately
+    ``env['ir.qweb'].render()``.
 
 .. [#backwards-compatibility] for backwards compatibility reasons
 .. [#hasclass] an extension function is added for simpler matching in QWeb