How to build a timeline feature in Bubble

The core idea is: create a Timeline Event data type, save events whenever something happens, and display them in a Repeating Group sorted by Created Date. That’s all a timeline really is. In Bubble you don’t “generate” timelines — you store events in the database and show them in order.

Data structure

Create a data type called Timeline Event with fields that describe what happened.

• Title (text) – short description
• Details (text) – optional longer notes
• Event type (text) – e.g., “comment”, “status change”, etc.
• Related thing (thing) – optional link to the object this event belongs to
• Creator (user) – saved automatically

If the timeline belongs to a specific thing (like a Project), store a Project field on the event.

Creating events

Whenever something happens, run a workflow step Create a new Timeline Event. This can be in a page workflow, a reusable element, or a backend workflow.

// Example backend workflow action
Create a new Timeline Event:
Title = "Status updated to In Progress"
Details = "User changed status"
Event type = "status_change"
Project = This Project

Displaying the timeline

Add a Repeating Group to the page where you want the timeline to appear.

• Type of content: Timeline Event
• Data source: Search for Timeline Events
• Constraints: Project = Current Page Project (if applicable)
• Sort by: Created Date descending

Inside the cell, show text elements for Title, Details, and Created Date. Format the date using Bubble’s built‑in date formatting so it looks like a real timeline item.

Optional visual styling

• Add a vertical line shape on the left.
• Add a small circle icon for each cell aligned to the line.
• Use conditional formatting (e.g., if Event type is “status\_change”, change color).

Optional: auto-generated events

You can use Backend Workflows with the Detect data trigger or Scheduled API workflows to automatically create timeline events when something changes in the database.

// Example: When a Thing is modified
Trigger type: Thing changed
Only when: This Project's status is not This Project's status before change
Action: Create Timeline Event with new status info

This structure gives you a clean, scalable timeline that works for comments, status updates, system actions, or anything else you need to track.