How to Convert Firestore Timestamp to Formatted Date in Flutter

Learn how to display Firestore timestamps in a user-friendly date format using Flutter. This guide breaks down the process step by step to help you efficiently manage date formats in your app.
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How to Convert Firestore Timestamp to Formatted Date in Flutter

If you are working with Firestore in your Flutter application, you may have come across a common issue: displaying timestamps in a user-friendly date format. When retrieving timestamps from Firestore, you might encounter a frustrating error stating that "String is a subtype of Timestamp or DateTime." In this guide, we'll explore how to properly format Firestore timestamps into a format that is easily readable to users, such as dd/MM/yyyy, hh:mm.

Understanding the Problem

When you pull data from Firestore, timestamps are typically stored as Timestamp objects. If you try to manipulate them as strings directly without converting them, it can lead to type errors. The key to avoiding these errors is to convert the timestamp into a DateTime object before formatting it.

Let's dive into how to resolve this issue step by step.

Solution: Convert Firestore Timestamp to DateTime

To format a Firestore timestamp correctly in Flutter, follow these organized steps:

1. Retrieve the Timestamp

First, ensure you are fetching the timestamp from the Firestore document. Here’s a snippet of how that can look:

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2. Convert Timestamp to DateTime

Instead of working with the Timestamp object directly, you can convert it into a DateTime object using the following method:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Note: The millisecondsSinceEpoch property gives the milliseconds since January 1, 1970, which is how Flutter manages dates and times.

3. Format the DateTime

After successfully converting the Timestamp to a DateTime, the next step is to format this date into a string that is more friendly for users. You can achieve this using the intl package for date formatting:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Make sure that you've imported the intl package in your Flutter project if you haven't already:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Full Code Example

Here’s a complete example of the item builder that you can use to display the formatted date properly:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

Displaying timestamps in a readable format in your Flutter app doesn't have to be complicated. By following the steps outlined above, you can easily convert Firestore timestamps into a formatted date string that enhances user experience. Remember to always convert Timestamp to DateTime first before formatting.

With this guide, you should now be able to display dates clearly and effectively in your Flutter applications. Happy coding!