Localize - CometChat Docs

AI Integration Quick Reference

Field	Value
Import	`com.cometchat.uikit.core.resources.localise.CometChatLocalize`
Set language	`CometChatLocalize.setLocale(context, Language.FRENCH)`
Get language	`CometChatLocalize.getLocale(context)`
Supported languages	19: ar, de, en, es, fr, hi, hu, it, ja, ko, lt, ms, nl, pl, pt, ru, sv, tr, zh
Override labels	`res/values/strings.xml` — override UI Kit string resource keys
Related	Theme Introduction · Sound Manager

Set the CometChat UI Kit language and override UI text so your app matches your users’ locale.

Core Concepts

CometChatLocalize — utility object in chatuikit-core to set and read the UI Kit locale. Shared by both Kotlin XML and Jetpack Compose modules.
Language — constants for supported language codes (Language.ENGLISH, Language.FRENCH, etc.)
strings.xml — Android string resources that control visible text in UI Kit components. Override keys in your app’s strings.xml.

Supported Languages

Language	Code	Language	Code
Arabic	`ar`	Korean	`ko`
Chinese	`zh`	Lithuanian	`lt`
Dutch	`nl`	Malay	`ms`
English	`en`	Polish	`pl`
French	`fr`	Portuguese	`pt`
German	`de`	Russian	`ru`
Hindi	`hi`	Spanish	`es`
Hungarian	`hu`	Swedish	`sv`
Italian	`it`	Turkish	`tr`
Japanese	`ja`

Set the UI Kit Locale

Call CometChatLocalize.setLocale() before rendering any UI Kit components.

Kotlin (XML Views)
Jetpack Compose

import com.cometchat.uikit.core.resources.localise.CometChatLocalize
import com.cometchat.uikit.core.resources.localise.Language

// Set language to Hindi
CometChatLocalize.setLocale(this, Language.HINDI)

// Read current locale
val currentLocale = CometChatLocalize.getLocale(this)

import com.cometchat.uikit.core.resources.localise.CometChatLocalize
import com.cometchat.uikit.core.resources.localise.Language

// Set language before setContent {}
CometChatLocalize.setLocale(this, Language.HINDI)

setContent {
    CometChatTheme {
        // UI Kit composables will use Hindi strings
        CometChatConversations(...)
    }
}

Override UI Kit Labels

Override any UI Kit string by adding the same key to your app’s res/values/strings.xml. No source code changes needed — Android’s resource merging handles it.

res/values/strings.xml

<resources>
    <!-- Override the conversations list title -->
    <string name="cometchat_chats" translatable="true">Conversations</string>

    <!-- Override the "typing" indicator text -->
    <string name="cometchat_typing" translatable="true">writing...</string>
</resources>

This works identically for both Kotlin XML Views and Jetpack Compose — both modules read from the same Android string resources.

Customize Date & Time Labels

Override how timestamps like “Today”, “Yesterday”, and “X mins ago” are displayed.

Kotlin (XML Views)
Jetpack Compose

Set a DateTimeFormatterCallback on individual components:

import com.cometchat.uikit.kotlin.shared.interfaces.DateTimeFormatterCallback
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat
import java.util.Date
import java.util.Locale

val messageList = findViewById<CometChatMessageList>(R.id.message_list)

messageList.setDateTimeFormatter(object : DateTimeFormatterCallback {
    private val dateFormatter = SimpleDateFormat("dd MMM yyyy", Locale.getDefault())

    override fun time(timestamp: Long): String = SimpleDateFormat("hh:mm a", Locale.getDefault()).format(Date(timestamp))
    override fun today(timestamp: Long): String = "Today"
    override fun yesterday(timestamp: Long): String = "Yesterday"
    override fun lastWeek(timestamp: Long): String = "Last Week"
    override fun otherDays(timestamp: Long): String = dateFormatter.format(Date(timestamp))
    override fun minutes(diffInMinutesFromNow: Long, timestamp: Long): String = "$diffInMinutesFromNow mins ago"
    override fun hours(diffInHourFromNow: Long, timestamp: Long): String = "$diffInHourFromNow hrs ago"
})

Pass a dateTimeFormatter parameter to the component:

CometChatMessageList(
    user = user,
    dateTimeFormatter = object : DateTimeFormatterCallback {
        override fun time(timestamp: Long): String = SimpleDateFormat("hh:mm a", Locale.getDefault()).format(Date(timestamp))
        override fun today(timestamp: Long): String = "Today"
        override fun yesterday(timestamp: Long): String = "Yesterday"
        override fun lastWeek(timestamp: Long): String = "Last Week"
        override fun otherDays(timestamp: Long): String = SimpleDateFormat("dd MMM yyyy", Locale.getDefault()).format(Date(timestamp))
        override fun minutes(diffInMinutesFromNow: Long, timestamp: Long): String = "$diffInMinutesFromNow mins ago"
        override fun hours(diffInHourFromNow: Long, timestamp: Long): String = "$diffInHourFromNow hrs ago"
    }
)

Additional API

Method	Description
`CometChatLocalize.setLocale(context, language)`	Sets the UI Kit language
`CometChatLocalize.getLocale(context)`	Returns the current locale country code
`CometChatLocalize.getLanguage(context)`	Returns the current locale language code
`CometChatLocalize.isRtl(context)`	Checks if the current locale is right-to-left
`CometChatLocalize.resetToDefault()`	Resets locale to system default
`CometChatLocalize.createLocalizedContext(context, language)`	Creates a context with a specific locale without affecting the app globally

​Core Concepts

​Supported Languages

​Set the UI Kit Locale

​Override UI Kit Labels

​Customize Date & Time Labels

​Additional API