Sort Lines
Sort lines alphabetically, numerically, or by length. Shuffle and reverse them too.
This sorter takes a list (one item per line) and reorders it instantly in your browser. Five modes cover the common cases: smart alphabetical, numeric, by line length, random shuffle, and a simple reverse. Nothing is uploaded; the whole tool runs client-side, so it is safe for log excerpts, customer lists, or anything else you would rather not paste into a random server-backed site.
How to use
- Type or paste one item per line into the input on the left. The Paste, Sample, and Clear buttons above the input speed up edits.
- Pick a sort mode: Alphabetical, Numeric, By length, Shuffle, or Reverse order. Tick Reverse to flip a sorted result, or Skip empty lines to drop blanks. In Shuffle mode, press Reshuffle to draw a new random order.
- Copy the live result from the right-hand pane or download it as a .txt file. Both panes show a running line count.
Natural sort: why item2 comes before item10
A plain character-by-character sort puts item10
before item2, because the character
1 ranks before 2. The Alphabetical
mode here uses natural ordering instead, comparing
embedded digit runs as whole numbers. Given this input:
item10
item2
item1the sorted output is:
item1
item2
item10
That is almost always what you want for filenames, versions,
IDs, and chapter lists. The comparison is also
case-insensitive, so Apple and
apple sort together rather than splitting into an
uppercase block and a lowercase block.
Numeric vs. alphabetical on mixed data
Numeric mode parses each line as a number (it reads the
leading number, so 3 apples sorts as 3). Lines
that do not start with a number, such as banana or
$5, sink to the bottom, alphabetised among
themselves. Use Numeric for price lists, scores, and
measurements; use Alphabetical when lines are mostly text
that happens to contain digits.
Shuffle and reverse
Shuffle uses a Fisher-Yates shuffle for an unbiased random order, which makes it handy for raffles and prize draws, picking a random sample from a list, randomising quiz questions, or breaking an order-related bias before review. Hit Reshuffle until you like the draw. Reverse order simply flips the list end to end, no sorting involved. That is useful for turning a newest-first log into oldest-first.
FAQ
More questions? Browse the full FAQ.
After sorting, you can remove duplicate lines from the sorted list (duplicates end up adjacent, which makes them easy to spot) or run a find & replace to clean up prefixes or separators before pasting the list back into your document.