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Create Realm Objects - Kotlin SDK

On this page

  • Write Transactions
  • Managed and Unmanaged Objects
  • Create a Realm Object
  • Create a Realm Object
  • Create an Embedded Object
  • Create an Asymmetric Object
  • Create Realm Properties
  • Create a RealmInstant (Timestamp) Property
  • Create a MutableRealmInt (Counter) Property
  • Create a RealmAny (Mixed) Property
  • Create Collection Properties
  • Create a RealmList
  • Create a RealmSet Property
  • Create a Dictionary Property
  • Create a Relationship Property
  • Create a To-One Relationship
  • Create a To-Many Relationship
  • Create an Inverse Relationship
  • Create an Unmanaged Copy of a Realm Object or Collection

This page describes the concepts of write transactions and managed objects in a realm, then explains how to create and persist a new object to a local or synced realm using the Kotlin SDK. To learn more about Realm objects and how to define them, refer to Realm Objects.

You can create objects whose object type is included in the realm schema when you open the realm. For more information, refer to Open a Realm or Open a Synced Realm.

Note

Write to a Synced Realm

The syntax to write a new object to a realm is the same for a local or a synced realm. However, there are additional considerations that determine whether the write operation in a synced realm is successful. For more information, refer to Write Data to a Synced Realm - Kotlin SDK.

Realm handles writes in terms of transactions. All writes must happen within a transaction. A transaction is a list of read and write operations that Realm treats as a single indivisible operation: either all of the operations succeed or none of the operations in the transaction take effect.

Realm represents each transaction as a callback function that contains zero or more read and write operations. To run a transaction, you define a transaction callback and pass it to the realm's write() or writeBlocking() method. Within this callback, you can access a MutableRealm instance and then create, read, update, and delete objects within the realm. The mutable realm represents the writeable state of a Realm file. Mutable realms are provided and managed automatically through the realm.write or realm.writeBlocking methods.

A realm allows only one open write transaction at a time. Realm blocks other writes on other threads until the open transaction on the mutable realm is complete. Consequently, there is no race condition when reading values from the realm within a transaction.

When you are done with your transaction, Realm either commits it or cancels it:

  • When Realm commits a transaction, Realm writes all changes to disk. For synced realms, the SDK queues the change for synchronization with the backend.

  • When Realm cancels a write transaction or an operation in the transaction causes an error, all changes are discarded.

Note

Frozen Objects

Objects returned from a write closure become frozen objects when the write transaction completes. For more information, refer to Frozen Architecture - Kotlin SDK.

Realm APIs may refer to objects as managed or unmanaged. When you create a Realm object with the Kotlin SDK, it is unmanaged until it is copied to a realm, which creates a managed instance.

  • Managed objects are Realm objects that persist in a realm. Managed objects can only be accessed from an open realm. They can be updated with changes within write transactions as long as that realm remains open. Managed objects are tied to the realm instance from which they originated and cannot be written to another realm.

    You can use Realm APIs with managed objects. For example, managed objects can have relationships with other objects and be observed for changes. You can also create an unmanaged copy of a managed object, refer to the Create an Unmanaged Copy of a Realm Object or Collection section on this page.

  • Unmanaged objects are instances of Realm objects that behave like normal Kotlin objects, but they are not persisted in a realm. All Realm objects are unmanaged until you copy them to a realm within a write transaction. You cannot use Realm APIs with unmanaged objects or observe them for changes.

Tip

You can check if an object is managed with the isManaged() method.

Before you can create a new object and persist it to the realm, you must Define a New Object Type. Then, you include that object type in your realm schema when you open the realm.

Important

Object Types Must Be in Your Schema

You can only write objects whose object type is included in the realm schema. If you try to reference or write an object of an object type that isn't in your schema, Realm will return a schema validation error.

To create a new object and persist it to the realm:

  1. Open a write transaction with realm.write() or realm.writeBlocking().

  2. Instantiate an unmanaged object instance with the class constructor. You can use an apply block to configure multiple properties at once.

  3. Pass the unmanaged object instance to copyToRealm() to persist the object data to the realm. This method returns a live managed instance of the object.

    Important

    Asymmetric Objects Use Insert()

    Asymmetric objects are special write-only objects that do not persist to the realm. They do not use copyToRealm(). Instead, you pass the asymmetric object instance to the insert() extension method within a write transaction. Refer to the Create an Asymmetric Object section on this page for more information.

  4. Work with the persisted Realm object through the returned instance. The live object is accessible until the write transaction completes. Note that this does not apply to asymmetric objects, which are write-only and do not persist to the realm.

You can also upsert into a realm using specific criteria. For more information, refer to Upsert a Realm Object.

To create a new RealmObject instance, instantiate a new object of a realm object type.

In the following example, we instantiate a Frog object in a realm.write() block, then pass the instantiated object to copyToRealm() to return a managed instance:

// Open a write transaction
realm.write {
// Instantiate a new unmanaged Frog object
val unmanagedFrog = Frog().apply {
name = "Kermit"
age = 42
owner = "Jim Henson"
}
assertFalse(unmanagedFrog.isManaged())
// Copy the object to realm to return a managed instance
val managedFrog = copyToRealm(unmanagedFrog)
assertTrue(managedFrog.isManaged())
// Work with the managed object ...
}

To create a new EmbeddedRealmObject instance, assign an instance of an embedded object type to a parent object's property. This can be in a one-to-one, one-to-many, or inverse relationship depending on how you defined the embedded object within the parent object type. For more information, refer to Define an Embedded Object.

Note

Embedded Objects Must Be Created Within a Parent Object

An embedded object requires a parent object and cannot exist as an independent Realm object.

Embedded objects have strict ownership with their parent object. After you create the embedded object, you cannot reassign it to a different parent object or share it between multiple parent objects.

In the following example, we instantiate a new Contact object with an embedded Address, which contains a Contact object and an embedded Country object:

realm.write {
// Instantiate a parent object with one embedded address
val contact = Contact().apply {
name = "Kermit"
address = EmbeddedAddress().apply {
propertyOwner = Contact().apply { name = "Mr. Frog" }
street = "123 Pond St"
country = EmbeddedCountry().apply { name = "United States" }
}
}
// Copy all objects to the realm to return managed instances
copyToRealm(contact)
}

We also instantiate a new Business object with a list of embedded Address objects, which also contain Contact objects and embedded Country objects:

realm.write {
// Instantiate a parent object with multiple embedded addresses
val localOffice = EmbeddedAddress().apply {
propertyOwner = Contact().apply { name = "Michigan J. Frog" }
street = "456 Lily Pad Ln"
country = EmbeddedCountry().apply { name = "United States" }
}
val remoteOffice = EmbeddedAddress().apply {
propertyOwner = Contact().apply { name = "Mr. Toad" }
street = "789 Leaping Frog Ave"
country = EmbeddedCountry().apply { name = "Ireland" }
}
val business = Business().apply {
name = "Big Frog Corp."
addresses = realmListOf(localOffice, remoteOffice)
}
// Copy all objects to the realm to return managed instances
copyToRealm(business)
}

New in version 1.10.0.

Unlike other Realm objects, you do not use the copyToRealm() method to create it. This is because asymmetric objects are write-only: they are not persisted to the realm. Instead, you use a special insert() extension method to insert it into the realm.

To create a new AsymmetricRealmObject instance, instantiate a new object of an asymmetric object type using insert().

In the following example, we instantiate a new WeatherSensor object and pass it to insert() within a write transaction:

// Open a write transaction
realm.write {
// Create a new asymmetric object
val weatherSensor = WeatherSensor().apply {
deviceId = "WX1278UIT"
temperatureInFarenheit = 6.7F
barometricPressureInHg = 29.65F
windSpeedInMph = 2
}
// Insert the object into the realm with the insert() extension method
insert(weatherSensor)
// WeatherSensor object is inserted into the realm, then synced to the
// App Services backend. You CANNOT access the object locally because it's
// deleted from the local realm after sync is complete.
}

Once inserted, the asymmetric object syncs to the App Services backend and the linked Atlas database. You cannot access the managed data locally, add it to or remove it from a realm, or query for it. For information on how to use asymmetric objects in your application, refer to Stream Data to Atlas - Kotlin SDK.

Depending on how you define your object type, you might have properties that are special Realm-specific types.

In the following example, we have a Frog object type with several Realm properties:

class Frog : RealmObject {
@PrimaryKey
var _id: ObjectId = ObjectId()
var name: String = ""
var birthdate: RealmInstant? = null
var fliesEaten: MutableRealmInt? = null
var favoriteThings: RealmList<RealmAny?> = realmListOf()
}

To create a new object instance with a RealmInstant property, instantiate an object and pass an initial value to the RealmInstant property using either:

For more information about the RealmInstant type, refer to RealmInstant (Timestamp).

In the following example, we instantiate a new Frog object with a birthdate property and pass an initial value to RealmInstant.from():

realm.write {
// Instantiate a new unmanaged Frog object with a RealmInstant property
val frog = Frog().apply {
name = "Kermit"
// Set an initial value with RealmInstant.from() or RealmInstant.now()
birthdate = RealmInstant.from(1_577_996_800, 0)
}
// Copy the object to the realm to return a managed instance
copyToRealm(frog)
}

To create a new object instance with a MutableRealmInt property, instantiate an object and pass an initial value to the MutableRealmInt property using MutableRealmInt.create(). For more information about the MutableRealmInt type, refer to MutableRealmInt (Counter).

In the following example, we instantiate a new Frog object with a fliesEaten property and pass an initial value to MutableRealmInt.create():

realm.write {
// Instantiate a new unmanaged Frog object with a MutableRealmInt property
val frog = Frog().apply {
name = "Michigan J. Frog"
// Set an initial value with MutableRealmInt.create()
fliesEaten = MutableRealmInt.create(200)
}
// Copy the object to the realm to return a managed instance
copyToRealm(frog)
}

To create a new object instance with a polymorphic RealmAny property, instantiate an object and pass an initial value of a supported type to the RealmAny property using RealmAny.create(). For a list of the value types that RealmAny can hold, refer to RealmAny (Mixed).

In the following example, we instantiate a new Frog object with a favoriteThings list of RealmAny type and pass the initial values to RealmAny.create():

realm.write {
// Instantiate a new unmanaged Frog object with a RealmAny property
val frog = Frog().apply {
name = "Kermit"
// Set initial values with RealmAny.create()
favoriteThings = realmListOf(
RealmAny.create(42),
RealmAny.create("rainbows"),
RealmAny.create(Frog().apply {
name = "Kermit Jr."
})
)
}
// Copy the object to the realm to return a managed instance
copyToRealm(frog)
}

After you create the object, you must know the stored value type to work with the RealmAny property. To learn how to update RealmAny properties after you create the object, refer to Update a RealmAny (Mixed) Property.

Depending on how you define your object type, you might have properties that are defined as one of the following supported Collection Types:

  • RealmList

  • RealmSet

  • RealmDictionary

For more information, refer to Define Collection Properties.

Collections are mutable: you can add and remove elements in a collection within a write transaction.

Collections can contain both managed and unmanaged objects. When you copy a collection to the realm, you create a managed instance of the collection and all elements in the collection, including any unmanaged elements. Unmanaged collections behave like their corresponding Kotlin classes and are not persisted to the realm.

Tip

Listen for Changes to a Created Collection

After you create a collection, you can register a notification handler to listen for changes. For more information, refer to Register a Collection Change Listener.

To create a new object instance with a RealmList property, instantiate an object and pass any values of a supported type to the RealmList property. For a list of the value types that RealmList can hold, refer to RealmList.

You can instantiate an unmanaged list with realmListOf() or pass elements to the list using list.add(), list.addAll(), or list.set(). The list is unmanaged until you copy it to the realm.

In the following example, we instantiate a new Frog object with initial values for several RealmList properties:

realm.write {
// Instantiate a new unmanaged Frog object with a RealmList property
val frog = Frog().apply {
name = "Kermit"
// Set values for each unmanaged list
favoritePonds.addAll(realmListOf(
Pond().apply { name = "Picnic Pond" },
Pond().apply { name = "Big Pond" }
))
favoriteForests.add(EmbeddedForest().apply { name = "Hundred Acre Wood" })
favoriteWeather = realmListOf("rain", "snow")
}
// Copy all objects to the realm to return managed instances
copyToRealm(frog)
}

To create a new object instance with a RealmSet property, instantiate an object and pass any values of a supported type to the RealmSet property. For a list of valid types that RealmSet can hold, refer to RealmSet.

You can instantiate an unmanaged set with realmSetOf() or pass elements to the set using set.add() or set.addAll(). The set is unmanaged until you copy it to the realm.

In the following example, we instantiate a new Frog object with initial values for favoriteSnacks and favoriteWeather set properties:

realm.write {
// Instantiate a new unmanaged Frog object with RealmSet properties
val frog = Frog().apply {
name = "Kermit"
// Set initial values to each unmanaged set
favoriteSnacks.addAll(setOf(
Snack().apply { name = "flies" },
Snack().apply { name = "crickets" },
Snack().apply { name = "worms" }
))
favoriteWeather.add("rain")
}
// Copy all objects to the realm to return managed instances
copyToRealm(frog)
}

To create a new object instance with a RealmDictionary property, instantiate an object and pass any key-value pairs of a supported type to the RealmDictionary property. RealmDictionary only accepts a String key, but values may be non-string types. For a list of valid types, refer to RealmMap/RealmDictionary.

You can instantiate an unmanaged dictionary with realmDictionaryOf() or realmDictionaryEntryOf(). Or you can pass key-values using put() or putAll(). The dictionary is unmanaged until you copy it to the realm.

In the following example, we instantiate a new Frog object with initial key-values for several dictionary properties:

realm.write {
val frog = Frog().apply {
name = "Kermit"
// Set initial key-values to each unmanaged dictionary
favoriteFriendsByPond = realmDictionaryOf(
"Picnic Pond" to Frog().apply { name = "Froggy Jay" },
"Big Pond" to Frog().apply { name = "Mr. Toad" }
)
favoriteTreesInForest["Maple"] = EmbeddedForest().apply {
name = "Hundred Acre Wood"
}
favoritePondsByForest.putAll(
mapOf(
"Silver Pond" to "Big Forest",
"Big Lake" to "Elm Wood",
"Trout Pond" to "Sunny Wood"
)
)
}
// Copy all objects to the realm to return managed instances
copyToRealm(frog)
}

Realm disallows the use of . or $ characters in map keys. You can use percent encoding and decoding to store a map key that contains one of these disallowed characters.

// Percent encode . or $ characters to use them in map keys
val mapKey = "Hundred Acre Wood.Northeast"
val encodedMapKey = "Hundred Acre Wood%2ENortheast"

Depending on how you define your object type, you might have properties that reference another Realm object. This can be a to-one, to-many, or inverse relationship. For more information on defining relationships in your object model, refer to Define a Relationship.

You can also embed one Realm object directly within another to create a nested data structure with an EmbeddedRealmObject type. To create a relationship with an embedded object, refer to the Create an Embedded Object section on this page.

To create a new object instance with a to-one relationship property, instantiate both objects and pass the referenced object to the relationship property.

In the following example, we instantiate a new Frog object with a favoritePond property that references a Pond object and a bestFriend property that references another Frog object:

realm.write {
// Instantiate a new unmanaged Frog object with to-one
// relationship with a Realm object
val frog = Frog().apply {
name = "Kermit"
age = 12
favoritePond = Pond().apply { name = "Picnic Pond" }
bestFriend = Frog().apply { name = "Froggy Jay" }
}
// Copy all objects to the realm to return managed instances
copyToRealm(frog)
}

To create a new object instance with a to-many relationship property, instantiate all objects and pass any referenced objects to the relationship collection property.

In the following example, we instantiate a new Forest object with a frogsThatLiveHere property that references a set of Frog objects and a nearByPonds property that references a list of Pond objects:

realm.write {
// Instantiate a new unmanaged Forest object with to-many
// relationship with multiple Realm objects
val forest = Forest().apply {
name = "Froggy Forest"
frogsThatLiveHere = realmSetOf(
Frog().apply { name = "Kermit" },
Frog().apply { name = "Froggy Jay" }
)
nearbyPonds = realmListOf(
Pond().apply { name = "Small Picnic Pond" },
Pond().apply { name = "Big Pond" }
)
}
// Copy all objects to the realm to return managed instances
copyToRealm(forest)
}

To create a new object instance with an inverse relationship property, instantiate the parent object and pass any referenced child objects to the backlink collection property.

In the following example, we instantiate a new User object with a backlinks posts property that references a list of Post objects:

realm.write {
// Instantiate a new unmanaged User object with to-many
// relationship with multiple Realm objects
val post1 = Post().apply {
title = "Forest Life"
}
val post2 = Post().apply {
title = "Top Ponds of the Year!"
}
val user = User().apply {
name = "Kermit"
posts = realmListOf(post1, post2)
}
// Copy all objects to the realm to return managed instances
copyToRealm(user)
}

After you create the object, you can access the backlinks collection property to get the child objects, but you cannot directly modify the backlink itself. For more information, refer to Update an Inverse Relationship.

You can create an unmanaged copy of a managed object or collection by passing it to copyFromRealm(). This method returns an unmanaged, in-memory copy of the object or collection. For collections, this is a deep copy that includes all referenced objects up to the specified depth.

In the following example, we create an unmanaged copy of an existing managed Pond object that contains a list of two Frog objects. After copying the object from the realm, we confirm that the copy is unmanaged and contains both referenced Frog objects:

realm.writeBlocking {
// Fetch the managed object you want to copy
val managedPond = query<Pond>("name == $0", "Big Pond").find().first()
assertTrue(managedPond.isManaged())
// Create an unmanaged copy of the object
val unmanagedPond = copyFromRealm(managedPond)
assertFalse(unmanagedPond.isManaged())
Log.v("Unmanaged pond name: ${unmanagedPond.name}")
// Confirm the unmanaged copy contains all elements
// in the copied object's RealmList
val unmanagedFrogs = unmanagedPond.frogsThatLiveHere
assertFalse(unmanagedFrogs[0].isManaged())
assertFalse(unmanagedFrogs[1].isManaged())
assertEquals(2, unmanagedFrogs.size)
Log.v("Unmanaged frogs: ${unmanagedFrogs[0].name}, ${unmanagedFrogs[1].name}")
}
Unmanaged pond name: Big Pond
Unmanaged frogs: Kermit, Froggy Jay
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