Java - convert ArrayList to array[]

In this article, we would like to show you how to convert ArrayList to an array in Java.

Below are the most common ways to convert an ArrayList to a primitive list.

Solutions for Java 8

1. stream() method

In this example, we are using the stream() method which works in Java 8 and earlier versions.

import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;

public class Example {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        List<String> arrayList = new ArrayList<>(Arrays.asList("a", "b", "c"));

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

        for (String string : strings) {
            System.out.println(string);
        }
    }
}

 Output: 

a
b
c

Note:

In Java 11 and higher versions we no longer need to use the stream() method - then the code will look like this: 
String[] strings = list.toArray(String[]::new);

2. List.toArray(new String[0])

Here we use the generic version of the toArray method. 

import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;

public class Example {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        List<String> arrayList = new ArrayList<>(Arrays.asList("a", "b", "c"));

        String[] strings = arrayList.toArray(new String[0]);

        for (String string : strings) {
            System.out.println(string);
        }
    }
}

Output:

a
b
c

3. List.toArray(new String[arrayList.size()])

import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;

public class Example {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        List<String> arrayList = new ArrayList<>(Arrays.asList("a", "b", "c"));

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

        for (String string : strings) {
            System.out.println(string);
        }
    }
}

 Output: 

a
b
c

See also:

1. toArray method - Java 8 docs