What this tool does
Sort Text Lines takes any list you paste, treats each line as a separate item, and reorders it the way you want. The most common job is to alphabetize a list, but you can also reverse it, shuffle it, or sort it by line length. The result appears live in the box on the right as you type or change options, and a counter shows how many lines went in versus how many came out after cleaning.
Beyond ordering, the tool cleans your list. It can remove duplicate lines so each entry appears only once, remove empty lines to drop blank rows, and trim whitespace to strip stray spaces and tabs from the start and end of every line. Turn on Case-insensitive so capitalization does not affect the order or duplicate detection, and turn on Natural numeric sort so numbers inside text sort by value, putting item2 ahead of item10 instead of behind it.
How to use it
Paste or type your list into the left box, one item per line. Choose a sort order from the menu, then toggle the checkboxes for any cleaning you need. The sorted, cleaned list appears instantly in the right box. When it looks right, press Copy to put the result on your clipboard, or Clear to start over. Cleaning options are applied first - trimming, removing blanks, then removing duplicates - and the chosen order is applied last, so what you copy is always tidy and ordered.
What you can do with it
Use it to alphabetize lists of names, tags, emails, or keywords; to remove duplicates from a merged list; to reverse a log or timeline; and to shuffle entries when you need a random order. The natural sort is perfect for ordering file names, version numbers, and chapter or episode lists where numbers matter. Cleaning a list with trim, remove-empty, and dedupe turns a messy paste into a clean column you can drop straight into a spreadsheet or CSV cell. Because the work is plain text, it pairs well with whatever comes next in your workflow.
Everything runs locally. Your text never leaves your device - all sorting and cleaning happens in your browser with JavaScript, so nothing is uploaded, logged, or tracked. Refresh the page and your data is gone.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I sort a list of text lines alphabetically?
Paste your list into the left box, one item per line, and choose A to Z from the sort order menu. The right box updates instantly with your lines in alphabetical order. The tool splits your text on every line break, so each line is treated as a separate item, then reorders them. Pick Z to A if you want reverse alphabetical order instead. You can also turn on Case-insensitive so that Apple, apple, and APPLE are grouped together rather than uppercase letters sorting ahead of lowercase ones.
What is natural sort and when should I use it?
Natural sort, sometimes called numeric or human sort, compares numbers inside text by their value instead of character by character. With a plain alphabetical sort, item10 comes before item2 because the character 1 sorts before 2. With natural sort enabled, item2 correctly comes before item10. This is ideal for file names, version numbers, chapter lists, and any list that mixes words with numbers. Turn on the Natural numeric sort checkbox to use it with the A to Z or Z to A orders.
How do I remove duplicate lines from my list?
Tick the Remove duplicate lines checkbox and the tool keeps only the first occurrence of each line, discarding any later repeats. Duplicates are removed before sorting, so the final list is both unique and ordered. If you also enable Case-insensitive, lines that differ only in capitalization, such as Hello and hello, are treated as the same line and collapsed into one. Combine it with Trim whitespace so that lines that differ only by stray spaces are recognized as duplicates too.
Can I reverse or shuffle lines instead of alphabetizing?
Yes. The Reverse order simply flips your list so the last line becomes the first, keeping every other line in its original relative position, which is useful for inverting logs or timelines. The Shuffle order randomizes the line order using a Fisher-Yates shuffle, handy for randomizing a list of names, questions, or playlist entries. You can also sort by Length, shortest to longest or longest to shortest, to group brief and lengthy entries together.
Does this tool change or upload my text?
No. Everything happens locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your list is never uploaded to a server, logged, or tracked, and once the page has loaded you can even work offline. The tool only reads the text you paste, reorders and cleans it in memory according to the options you choose, and writes the result into the output box. Closing or refreshing the page clears everything, so your data stays entirely on your own device.
How do I clean up a messy list for a spreadsheet or CSV?
Enable Trim whitespace to strip leading and trailing spaces and tabs from every line, turn on Remove empty lines to drop blank rows, and add Remove duplicate lines to keep each entry only once. With those three options you get a tidy, deduplicated column of values that pastes cleanly into a spreadsheet or a single CSV field. Finish by choosing A to Z so the column arrives sorted, then press Copy to grab the cleaned result.