flutter_timeago_pro
A Flutter extension that formats DateTime? values into human-friendly, context-aware timestamps — the way notification apps, chat apps, and social feeds actually show time.
Unlike packages that say "48 hours ago" or "7 days ago" forever, flutter_timeago_pro adapts intelligently based on how far in the past the date is:
| Age | Output | Output when showTimeForOveraged: false |
|---|---|---|
| < 1 minute | Just now |
Just now |
| < 1 hour | 45m ago |
45m ago |
| Today | 02:30 PM |
02:30 PM |
| Yesterday | Yesterday, 02:30 PM |
Yesterday |
| 2–6 days ago | Friday, 02:30 PM |
Friday |
| Same year, > 1 week | 15 Jan, 02:30 PM |
15 Jan |
| Different year | 15 Jan 2025, 02:30 PM |
15 Jan 2025 |
null |
Unknown time |
Unknown time |
Why not timeago or jiffy?
Those packages are great but they keep emitting relative phrases ("2 days ago", "a week ago") no matter how old the date is. For notifications, chat bubbles, or feed items, showing "a month ago" is less useful than showing the actual date. flutter_timeago_pro switches to absolute dates exactly when relative labels stop being helpful.
Getting started
Add to your pubspec.yaml:
dependencies:
flutter_timeago_pro: ^1.1.1
Then run:
flutter pub get
Usage
import 'package:flutter_timeago_pro/flutter_timeago_pro.dart';
// In any widget:
final dateTime = DateTime.now().subtract(const Duration(minutes: 25));
Text(dateTime.toTimeagoFormat())
// → "25m ago"
Hide the time portion
dateTime.toTimeagoFormat(showTimeForOveraged: false);
// → "Friday" | "15 Jan" | "15 Jan 2024"
Custom timeago limit
// Override the default 1-hour limit to 3 hours
dateTime.toTimeagoFormat(timeagoLimit: const Duration(hours: 3));
// Output for 2h 30m ago → "2h ago"
24-hour clock
dateTime.toTimeagoFormat(timePattern: 'HH:mm');
// → "14:30"
Custom locale / i18n
const bahasa = TimestampLocale(
justNow: 'Baru saja',
yesterday: 'Kemarin',
minutesAgoSuffix: 'm lalu',
hoursAgoSuffix: 'j lalu',
unknownTime: 'Waktu tidak diketahui',
);
dateTime.toTimeagoFormat(locale: bahasa);
Testing / custom reference time
// Pass a fixed "now" so your widget tests are deterministic:
dateTime.toTimeagoFormat(
referenceTime: DateTime(2024, 6, 15, 14, 30),
);
API
toTimeagoFormat
String toTimeagoFormat({
bool showTimeForOveraged = true,
TimestampLocale locale = const TimestampLocale(),
String timePattern = 'hh:mm a',
DateTime? referenceTime,
Duration timeagoLimit = const Duration(hours: 1),
})
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
showTimeForOveraged |
bool |
true |
Append the time portion to the label |
locale |
TimestampLocale |
English defaults | Customise "Just now", "Yesterday", etc. |
timePattern |
String |
'hh:mm a' |
Any intl DateFormat pattern |
referenceTime |
DateTime? |
DateTime.now() |
Anchor for relative comparison |
timeagoLimit |
Duration |
const Duration(hours: 1) |
Maximum age to show as "Xm/Xh ago" |
TimestampLocale
const TimestampLocale({
String justNow = 'Just now',
String minutesAgoSuffix = 'm ago',
String hoursAgoSuffix = 'h ago',
String yesterday = 'Yesterday',
String unknownTime = 'Unknown time',
});
Contributing
PRs and issues are welcome! Please open an issue first for significant changes.
License
MIT © 2026 aslamambiloly
Libraries
- flutter_timeago_pro
- Flutter Timeago — human-friendly DateTime formatting for Flutter.