How does numeric sorting handle non-number lines?

Each line is parsed from its start as a number. Lines that do not begin with a number are treated as non-numeric and pushed to the bottom of the list in both ascending and descending modes, so your numbers stay cleanly ordered.

What does case-insensitive sorting change?

With it on, Apple and apple are treated as equal for ordering, so capitalisation no longer affects where a line lands. With it off, uppercase letters sort according to the locale's normal rules. It only affects the two alphabetical modes.

Yes. When two lines compare as equal, such as two lines of the same length in length mode, their original relative order is preserved. JavaScript's sort is guaranteed stable in modern browsers.

What does the trim option do?

It removes leading and trailing whitespace from every line before sorting and before output. This is useful when copied lists have stray spaces or tabs that would otherwise affect alphabetical and length ordering.

Will it keep blank lines?

Blank lines are kept as empty entries and sorted like any other line, typically to the top in alphabetical mode. Turn on trimming if you want indented blank lines to be treated as truly empty.

Multi-line Text Sorter

Sorting a list by hand is tedious and error-prone. This tool splits your input on line breaks and reorders it instantly using whichever rule you pick, with optional case folding and whitespace trimming so messy pasted lists come out clean.

How it works

The input is split on newlines into an array of strings, then sorted with a comparison function chosen by mode:

Alphabetical uses the locale-aware localeCompare, optionally folding case.
Numeric parses the leading number of each line with parseFloat and compares the values, sending non-numeric lines to the end.
Length compares the character count of each line.
Reverse does no comparison at all; it simply flips the existing order.

The sort is stable, so equal lines keep their original sequence.

Tips and examples

Numeric mode reads from the start of the line, so 10 apples sorts as 10, which means lines like 12-inch and 9-inch order correctly by their leading number. For mixed lists, sort alphabetically first, then de-duplicate with the companion Duplicate Line Remover. Turn on trimming whenever you paste from a spreadsheet or terminal, where trailing tabs are common and would otherwise push lines to unexpected positions.