Localize

Set the UI Kit language and override text labels to match your users’ locale.

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.

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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

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Set the UI Kit Locale

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

Kotlin (XML Views)

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)

Jetpack Compose

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(...)
    }
}

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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.

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Customize Date & Time Labels

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

Kotlin (XML Views)

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"
})

Jetpack Compose

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"
    }
)

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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