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sort

text processingLinux/Unix

The sort command is one of the most frequently used commands in Linux/Unix-like operating systems. sort Sort lines of text files

See Examples View Syntax

Quick Reference

Command Name:

sort

Category:

text processing

Platform:

Linux/Unix

Basic Usage:

sort [options] [arguments]

Common Use Cases

Syntax

sort [options] [file...]

Options

Option	Description
`-b, --ignore-leading-blanks`	Ignore leading blanks
`-c, --check`	Check if input is already sorted; don't sort
`-d, --dictionary-order`	Consider only blanks and alphanumeric characters
`-f, --ignore-case`	Fold lowercase to uppercase characters
`-g, --general-numeric-sort`	Compare according to general numerical value
`-h, --human-numeric-sort`	Compare human readable numbers (e.g., 2K, 1G)
`-i, --ignore-nonprinting`	Consider only printable characters
`-k, --key=POS1[,POS2]`	Sort via a key; start at POS1 and end at POS2
`-m, --merge`	Merge already sorted files; don't sort
`-n, --numeric-sort`	Compare according to string numerical value
`-o, --output=FILE`	Write result to FILE instead of standard output
`-r, --reverse`	Reverse the result of comparisons
`-R, --random-sort`	Shuffle, but group identical keys (same as --random-source=FILE)
`-s, --stable`	Stabilize sort by disabling last-resort comparison
`-t, --field-separator=SEP`	Use SEP instead of non-blank to blank transition
`-u, --unique`	With -c, check for strict ordering; without -c, output only the first of equal lines
`-V, --version-sort`	Natural sort of (version) numbers within text
`--help`	Display help and exit
`--version`	Output version information and exit

Examples

How to Use These Examples

The examples below show common ways to use the sort command. Try them in your terminal to see the results. You can copy any example by clicking on the code block.

# Basic Examples Basic

sort file.txt

Sort a file in ascending order.

sort -r file.txt

Sort a file in descending (reverse) order.

sort -n file.txt

Sort a file numerically. # Advanced Examples Advanced sort -k2,2 file.txt Sort a file based on the second field. sort -t"," -k3,3n data.csv Sort a CSV file numerically by the third column. sort -u file.txt Sort and remove duplicate lines.

cat file.txt | sort | uniq -c

Count occurrences of each line. sort -R file.txt Shuffle lines randomly. sort -h file.txt Sort human-readable numbers (like 2K, 1G). sort -k1,1 -k2,2n file.txt Sort by first field, then numerically by second field. # Merge two sorted files sort -m sorted1.txt sorted2.txt # Sort IP addresses naturally sort -V ip_addresses.txt # Sort dates (YYYY-MM-DD format) sort -k1.1,1.4n -k1.6,1.7n -k1.9,1.10n dates.txt # Case-insensitive sort sort -f words.txt # Save sorted output to a new file sort input.txt -o output.txt # Sort a file and check if it's already sorted sort -c file.txt # Sort with custom temporary directory (useful for large files) sort --temporary-directory=/tmp/sorting file.txt

Try It Yourself

Practice makes perfect! The best way to learn is by trying these examples on your own system with real files.

Understanding Syntax

Pay attention to the syntax coloring: commands, options, and file paths are highlighted differently.

Notes

The `sort` command is a powerful text processing utility in Unix-like operating systems that arranges lines of text files in a specified order. It's an essential tool for data manipulation, analysis, and organization in the command line environment. At its most basic, `sort` takes one or more text files as input and outputs the lines in ascending alphabetical order. However, its true power lies in its extensive options that allow for highly customized sorting operations. Key features of the `sort` command include: 1. Flexible Sort Orders: Beyond basic alphabetical sorting, `sort` can handle numeric sorting (`-n`), human-readable number sorting (`-h`), month sorting, reverse sorting (`-r`), and even random shuffling (`-R`). 2. Field-Based Sorting: Using the `-k` option, `sort` can sort based on specific fields (columns) within each line. This is especially useful for structured data like CSV files or tabular output. 3. Custom Delimiters: The `-t` option allows specifying custom field separators, making it versatile for various data formats. 4. Duplicate Handling: The `-u` option removes duplicate lines, effectively combining sorting and uniquing operations. 5. Merge Capability: With the `-m` option, `sort` can efficiently merge multiple pre-sorted files without resorting them. 6. Stability: The `-s` option ensures that records with equal keys maintain their original order (stable sort). 7. Case Sensitivity Control: The `-f` option enables case-insensitive sorting. 8. Large File Support: `sort` is designed to handle files larger than available memory through efficient external sorting algorithms. Common use cases for the `sort` command include: - Organizing log files or any text data for easier analysis - Preparing data for further processing with tools like `uniq` or `join` - Creating alphabetical listings of words, names, or other textual data - Sorting numerical data like sizes, dates, or IP addresses in logical order - Removing duplicates from datasets while preserving order - Performing multi-key sorts on complex structured data The `sort` command plays a central role in the Unix philosophy of creating small, specialized tools that can be combined in powerful ways. It's frequently used in pipelines with other text-processing commands like `cut`, `awk`, `uniq`, and `grep` to perform sophisticated data transformations and analyses. While simple in concept, mastering the various options of `sort` allows for handling complex sorting requirements efficiently from the command line without requiring specialized data processing software.

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These commands are frequently used alongside sort or serve similar purposes:

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Use Cases

Learn By Doing

The best way to learn Linux commands is by practicing. Try out these examples in your terminal to build muscle memory and understand how the sort command works in different scenarios.

See Examples Try Lab Exercises

$ sort

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