How to convert ArrayList to String Array in Java

Learn different ways to convert ArrayList to string array in Java with examples.

1. Convert arraylist to array – List.toArray()

This is most basic way to convert an arraylist containing string values to a string array.

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Arrays;

public class ArrayListExample 
{
    public static void main(String[] args) 
    {
        ArrayList<String> arrayList = new ArrayList<>();

        arrayList.add("how");
        arrayList.add("to");
        arrayList.add("do");
        arrayList.add("in");
        arrayList.add("java");

        String[] strArray = arrayList.toArray(new String[arrayList.size()]);

        System.out.println(Arrays.toString(strArray));
    }
}

Program output.

[how, to, do, in, java]

2. Convert arraylist to string array – Java 8 stream

If you are using Java 8 or later, you can use stream and collector to get the string array from arraylist.

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Arrays;

public class ArrayListExample 
{
    public static void main(String[] args) 
    {
        ArrayList<String> arrayList = new ArrayList<>();

        arrayList.add("how");
        arrayList.add("to");
        arrayList.add("do");
        arrayList.add("in");
        arrayList.add("java");

        String[] strArray = arrayList.stream().toArray(String[]::new);

        System.out.println(Arrays.toString(strArray));
    }
}

Program output.

[how, to, do, in, java]

3. Conclusion

There are other ways also for this conversion from arraylist to string array using libraries such as apache commons and google guava, but those solutions add unnecessary complexity without adding any value. You can skip those solutions and stick to basics.

My preferred way is to use Java 8 streams. Feel free to share what’s your preferred way.

Happy Learning !!

Read More:

A Guide to Java ArrayList
ArrayList Java Docs
Arrays Java Docs

Further Reading:

Java ArrayList toArray() – Convert ArrayList to Array Java 8 – Join String Array – Convert Array to String How to convert LinkedList to ArrayList in Java