sort
Sort lines of text files alphabetically, numerically, or by custom keys.
Synopsis
sort [OPTION]... [FILE]...
Examples
sort names.txt
sort -n -r scores.txt
sort -t',' -k2 data.csv
du -sh * | sort -h
Common options
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| -n | Numeric sort |
| -r | Reverse order |
| -k | Sort by specified key/field |
| -u | Output only unique lines |
| -t | Field separator character |
| -h | Human-numeric sort (2K, 1G) |
About sort
The `sort` command sort lines of text files alphabetically, numerically, or by custom keys. Text viewing and editing commands are fundamental tools in any Linux user's toolkit.
Linux treats almost everything as a file, so the ability to quickly inspect, filter, transform, and edit file contents from the command line is critical. These commands are regularly combined with pipes and redirects to build powerful data-processing pipelines.
The command accepts 6 commonly used flags shown above, though the full set of options is available in the man page (`man sort`). The 4 examples on this page cover typical real-world usage patterns that you can copy and adapt for your own workflows.
Related commands
More File Viewing & Editing Commands
Other commands in the File Viewing & Editing category