Adding a Timestamp to a nested object in Cloud Firestore

Question

I am trying to set a timestamp field on a nested element to the current time:

docRef.update({
   arrayOfStuff: {
        id: 123,
        dateAdded: admin.firestore.FieldValue.serverTimestamp()
   }
})

I get the error:

FieldValue.serverTimestamp() cannot be used inside of an array

Using Date.now() gets me an int value, not a timestamp.

Trying Firestore.Timestamp.fromDate() yields the error:

TypeError: date.getTime is not a function
    at Function.fromDate (/srv/node_modules/firebase-admin/node_modules/@google-cloud/firestore/build/src/timestamp.js:108:42)
    at firestoreDB.doc.get.then.site (/srv/index.js:32:45)

where line 32 of index.js is:

let now = admin.firestore.Timestamp.fromDate(Date.now());

Thoughts?

So I have decided to move forward using: let now = admin.firestore.Timestamp.now() It yields a "timestamp" value in Firestore. I suspect the difference is that the timestamp I get comes from when the code runs, as opposed to serverTimestamp() that I believe is the time that the data is actually stored in Firestore (there can be a delay between the two times). — Greg Fenton
– Greg Fenton, Commented Apr 4, 2020 at 3:39

Renaud Tarnec · Accepted Answer · 2021-04-22 21:40:50Z

1

As explained here, "FieldValue.serverTimestamp can't be supported inside arrays without a major overhaul of the way Firestore works". So this behavior is expected.

Searching a bit more, I was able to find a workaround by Renaud Tarnec. Although he mentioned that you might need to change your data model.

I hope this helps.

edited Apr 22, 2021 at 21:40

Renaud Tarnec

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answered Apr 6, 2020 at 8:17

tzovourn

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1 Comment

Renaud Tarnec Over a year ago

See here a possible workaround with a Cloud Function and a field in the doc (not in an array) that contains the timestamp.

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