How to Get Current Time and Date in Android using Jetpack Compose?

Many times in android applications we have to capture the current date and time within our android application so that we can update our data according to that. In this article, we will look at How to get the Current Time and Date in our android application using Jetpack Compose. 

Step by Step Implementation

Step 1: Create a New Project in Android Studio

To create a new project in Android Studio please refer to How to Create/Start a New Project in Android Studio. While choosing the template, select Empty Compose Activity. If you do not find this template, try upgrading the Android Studio to the latest version. We demonstrated the application in Kotlin, so make sure you select Kotlin as the primary language while creating a New Project.

Step 2: Working with MainActivity.kt file 

Navigate to app>java>your app’s package name>MainActivity.kt file and add the below code to it. Comments are added in the code to get to know in detail. 

Kotlin

package com.example.newcanaryproject

import android.Manifest.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
import android.app.Activity
import android.content.BroadcastReceiver
import android.content.Context
import android.content.Intent
import android.content.IntentFilter
import android.content.pm.PackageManager
import android.content.res.ColorStateList
import android.database.Cursor
import android.os.Bundle
import android.os.Environment
import android.provider.MediaStore
import android.util.Log
import android.widget.TextClock
import android.widget.Toast
import androidx.activity.ComponentActivity
import androidx.activity.compose.setContent
import androidx.compose.foundation.ExperimentalFoundationApi
import androidx.compose.foundation.Image
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.*
import androidx.compose.foundation.lazy.GridCells
import androidx.compose.foundation.lazy.LazyVerticalGrid
import androidx.compose.material.*
import androidx.compose.runtime.*
import androidx.compose.ui.Alignment
import androidx.compose.ui.Modifier
import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
import androidx.compose.ui.platform.LocalContext
import androidx.compose.ui.res.colorResource
import androidx.compose.ui.res.painterResource
import androidx.compose.ui.semantics.Role.Companion.Image
import androidx.compose.ui.text.font.FontWeight
import androidx.compose.ui.text.style.TextAlign
import androidx.compose.ui.unit.*
import androidx.compose.ui.viewinterop.AndroidView
import androidx.core.app.ActivityCompat
import androidx.core.app.ActivityCompat.requestPermissions
import androidx.core.content.ContextCompat
import androidx.localbroadcastmanager.content.LocalBroadcastManager
import coil.compose.rememberImagePainter
import com.example.newcanaryproject.MainActivity2
import com.example.newcanaryproject.R
import com.example.newcanaryproject.ui.theme.*
import java.io.File
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat
import java.util.*

class MainActivity : ComponentActivity() {
    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContent {
            NewCanaryProjectTheme {
                // on below line we are specifying
                // background color for our application
                Surface(
                    modifier = Modifier.fillMaxSize(), color = MaterialTheme.colors.background
                ) {
                    // on below line we are specifying theme as scaffold.
                    Scaffold(
                        // in scaffold we are specifying top bar.
                        topBar = {
                            // inside top bar we are specifying background color.
                            TopAppBar(backgroundColor = greenColor,
                                // along with that we are specifying title
                                // for our top bar.
                                title = {
                                    // in the top bar we are specifying tile as a text
                                    Text(
                                        // on below line we are specifying text
                                        // to display in top app bar.
                                        text = "GFG",
                                        // on below line we are specifying modifier
                                        // to fill max width.
                                        modifier = Modifier.fillMaxWidth(),
                                        // on below line we are specifying text alignment.
                                        textAlign = TextAlign.Center,
                                        // on below line we are specifying
                                        // color for our text.
                                        color = Color.White
                                    )
                                })
                        }) {
                        // on below line we
                        // are calling our function.
                        displayTxtClock()
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

// on below line we are creating a
// function to get current date and time.
@Composable
fun displayTxtClock() {
    // on below line we are
    // creating a column on below sides.
    Column(
        // on below line we are adding padding
        // padding for our column and filling the max size.
        Modifier
            .fillMaxSize()
            .fillMaxHeight()
            .fillMaxWidth(),
        // on below line we are adding
        // horizontal alignment for our column
        horizontalAlignment = Alignment.CenterHorizontally,
        // on below line we are adding
        // vertical arrangement for our column
        verticalArrangement = Arrangement.Center
    ) {

        Text(
            // on below line we are specifying text to display.
            text = "Current Date and Time in Android",

            // on below line we are specifying
            // modifier to fill max width.
            modifier = Modifier.fillMaxWidth(),

            // on below line we are
            // specifying text alignment.
            textAlign = TextAlign.Center,

            // on below line we are
            // specifying color for our text.
            color = Color.Black,

            // on below line we are specifying font weight
            fontWeight = FontWeight.Bold,

            // on below line we are updating font size.
            fontSize = 25.sp,
        )

        // on below line we are creating a spacer.
        Spacer(modifier = Modifier.height(20.dp))

        // on below line we are creating and initializing
        // variable for simple date format.
        val sdf = SimpleDateFormat("'Date\n'dd-MM-yyyy '\n\nand\n\nTime\n'HH:mm:ss z")

        // on below line we are creating a variable for
        // current date and time and calling a simple
        // date format in it.
        val currentDateAndTime = sdf.format(Date())

        Text(
            // on below line we are
            // specifying text to display.
            text = currentDateAndTime,

            // on below line we are specifying
            // modifier to fill max width.
            modifier = Modifier.fillMaxWidth(),

            // on below line we are
            // specifying text alignment.
            textAlign = TextAlign.Center,

            // on below line we are specifying
            // color for our text.
            color = Color.Black,

            // on below line we are specifying font weight
            fontWeight = FontWeight.Bold,

            // on below line we are updating font size.
            fontSize = 25.sp,
        )

    }
}

Now run your application to see the output of it. 

Output: