How do I get the current time as a TimeStamp in Kotlin?

Question

This is the timestamp format I need: 2018-03-22 19:02:12.337909

score 64 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 01 '20 at 18:28

Kotlin doesn't have any time handling classes of its own, so you just use Java's java.time. For an ISO-8601 timestamp (which is the preferred format):

DateTimeFormatter.ISO_INSTANT.format(Instant.now())

That will return 2018-04-16T17:00:08.746Z. For your format, or if you need a different timezone, you can specify those:

DateTimeFormatter
    .ofPattern("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSSSSS")
    .withZone(ZoneOffset.UTC)
    .format(Instant.now())

See the java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter JavaDoc for details on how to specify a format string.

The java.time classes are bundled with Android 26 and later, and with Java 8 and later. Most of the java.time functionality is back-ported to Java 6 & Java 7 in the ThreeTen-Backport project. Further adapted for earlier Android (<26) in ThreeTenABP. See How to use ThreeTenABP….

Update 2020/07

The development of ThreeTenABP is winding down. With Gradle plugin 4.0 and higher, you can directly use java 8 APIs without requiring a minimum API level for your app.

For more information see Java 8+ API desugaring support (Android Gradle Plugin 4.0.0+)

This requires API lvl 26 or above, any compatible alternative with older APIs? — DarkCygnus, Jun 08 '18 at 17:59
Oh yes, @DarkCygnus. For Android API level under 26 use the Android adaptation of backport of java.time. See [How to use ThreeTenABP in Android Project](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/38922754/how-to-use-threetenabp-in-android-project). — Ole V.V., May 27 '19 at 18:55

score 52 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 05 '19 at 05:17

52

  val currentTimestamp = System.currentTimeMillis()

answered Jul 05 '19 at 05:17

Softlabsindia

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3

This won't give you the format op requested. `System.currentTimeMillis()` returns a long, not a formatted string. – BDL Jul 05 '19 at 08:24
8

maybe this is not the answer to this question, but when I search "timestamp in Kotlin" this is the best answer, so upvote – Azhagthott Dec 21 '20 at 05:24
1

I don’t get how so many upvotes to this answer. Clearly the question said the required time stamp in the expected format. Which System.currentTimeMillis() does not return – Akash Verma Aug 26 '22 at 08:54
There are many kinds of timestamp, but (correctly or not), often the convention when using the term is to refer to a _numeric_ timestamp. That's probably why this answer is upvoted, because people just google "timestamp in Kotlin" and end up here – max pleaner Jan 05 '23 at 01:10

score 36 · Answer 3 · edited Dec 26 '21 at 18:21

36

Try java.sql.Timestamp(System.currentTimeMillis()) i'm using API 19 and it works for me

edited Dec 26 '21 at 18:21

Sayed Abolfazl Fatemi

3,678
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answered Jun 18 '18 at 17:13

Andres Eusse

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1

Is it java.security or java.sql? – IgorGanapolsky Dec 21 '18 at 19:16
2

import java.sql.Timestamp – Andres Eusse Jan 09 '19 at 13:06
12

The terrible `java.sql.Timestamp` class was supplanted years ago by the *java.time* classes with the adoption of JSR 310. Replaced by `Instant` and `OffsetDateTime` classes. Suggesting the use of `Timestamp` in 2019 is poor advice. – Basil Bourque May 27 '19 at 20:28

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 22 '23 at 18:29

3

First get the

val currentTimeMillis = System.currentTimeMillis()
// currentTimeMillis = 1674411796305

Then get TimeStamp like this

val timeStamp = Timestamp(currentTimeMillis)
// timestamp = 2023-01-22 20:23:16.305

answered Jan 22 '23 at 18:29

Mohammed Nashat

31
2

score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Jul 18 '20 at 04:46

package com.mkyong.date
import java.sql.Timestamp
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat
import java.util.Date
object TimeStampExample {
    private val sdf = SimpleDateFormat("yyyy.MM.dd.HH.mm.ss")
    @JvmStatic fun main(args:Array<String>) {
        //method 1
        val timestamp = Timestamp(System.currentTimeMillis())
        println(timestamp)
        //method 2 - via Date
        val date = Date()
        println(Timestamp(date.getTime()))
        //return number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 GMT
        println(timestamp.getTime())
        //format timestamp
        println(sdf.format(timestamp))
    }
}

score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Feb 28 '23 at 08:01

2

Use the kotlinx.datetime library. Here's how:

val currentTime = Clock.System.now()
println("The current time is $currentTime")

will print the current time in this format:

2023-02-28T07:43:04.618714Z

answered Feb 28 '23 at 08:01

donturner

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score 0 · Answer 7 · answered May 27 '19 at 18:17

0

I'm using this

val timeStamp: String = SimpleDateFormat("yyyyMMdd_HHmmss").format(Date())

and here you have all Date and Time patterns https://developer.android.com/reference/java/text/SimpleDateFormat

answered May 27 '19 at 18:17

lev4

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2
8

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Please don’t teach the young ones to use the long outdated and notoriously troublesome `SimpleDateFormat` class. At least not as the first option. And not without any reservation. Today we have so much better in [`java.time`, the modern Java date and time API,](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/datetime/) and its `DateTimeFormatter`. Yes, you can use it on Android. For older Android see [How to use ThreeTenABP in Android Project](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/38922754/how-to-use-threetenabp-in-android-project). – Ole V.V. May 27 '19 at 18:57
1

Of course my bad for not mentioning Android Project use. I found this line of code in developer android documentation,it's simple and working for me so i thought it was fine. Sorry. – lev4 May 27 '19 at 21:54
3

Please note that Kotlin is much more than Kotlin on Android. – treesAreEverywhere Jan 03 '20 at 17:00

How do I get the current time as a TimeStamp in Kotlin?

7 Answers7