Sort Lines

Paste a list and sort it. Alphabetical handles most cases, but the option worth knowing about is natural sorting: plain alphabetical compares character by character, which puts item10 before item2 because "1" sorts before "2". Natural sorting reads embedded numbers as numbers and orders them the way a person would.

Sorting uses your locale's collation rules rather than raw character codes, so accented letters file in their proper places instead of being dumped after Z — the standard failure of anything built on a naive comparison.

Frequently asked questions

Why is item10 sorting before item2?

Because alphabetical sorting compares one character at a time, and "1" comes before "2". Switch to natural sorting, which recognises the digits as a number and orders item2 before item10. It's the right choice for filenames, version strings and anything else with a number in the middle.

How do I sort numbers properly?

Use the "numeric value" mode, which parses each line as a number and sorts by value — so 9 comes before 100. Lines that aren't numbers sink to the bottom rather than being dropped or scattered unpredictably.

Does sorting handle accented and non-English characters?

Yes. It uses your browser's locale-aware collator, so é files next to e rather than after z. Character-code sorting, which most simple tools use, gets this wrong for every language with accents.

Can I sort in reverse?

Yes — "Reverse" flips any of the sort modes, giving Z–A, largest first, or longest first depending on which you've chosen.