| -b--ignore-leading-blanks | ignore leading blanks |
| -d--dictionary-order | consider only blanks and alphanumeric characters |
| -f--ignore-case | fold lower case to upper case characters |
| -g--general-numeric-sort | compare according to general numerical value |
| -i--ignore-nonprinting | consider only printable characters |
| -M--month-sort | compare (unknown) < 'JAN' < ... < 'DEC' |
| -h--human-numeric-sort | compare human readable numbers (e.g., 2K 1G) |
| -n--numeric-sort | compare according to string numerical value; see full documentation for supported strings |
| -R--random-sort | shuffle, but group identical keys. See shuf(1) |
| --random-source | get random bytes from FILE |
| -r--reverse | reverse the result of comparisons |
| --sort | sort according to WORD: general-numeric -g, human-numeric -h, month -M, numeric -n, random -R, version -V |
| -V--version-sort | natural sort of (version) numbers within text |
| --batch-size | merge at most NMERGE inputs at once; for more use temp files |
| -c--check | check for sorted input; do not sort |
| -C--check | like -c, but do not report first bad line |
| --compress-program | compress temporaries with PROG; decompress them with PROG -d |
| --debug | annotate the part of the line used to sort, and warn about questionable usage to stderr |
| --files0-from | read input from the files specified by NUL-terminated names in file F; If F is - then read names from standard input |
| -k--key | sort via a key; KEYDEF gives location and type |
| -m--merge | merge already sorted files; do not sort |
| -o--output | write result to FILE instead of standard output |
| -s--stable | stabilize sort by disabling last-resort comparison |
| -S--buffer-size | use SIZE for main memory buffer |
| -t--field-separator | use SEP instead of non-blank to blank transition |
| -T--temporary-directory | use DIR for temporaries, not $TMPDIR or /tmp; multiple options specify multiple directories |
| --parallel | change the number of sorts run concurrently to N |
| -u--unique | output only the first of lines with equal keys; with -c, check for strict ordering |
| -z--zero-terminated | line delimiter is NUL, not newline |
| --help | display this help and exit |
| --version | output version information and exit |
NAME
sort - sort lines of text files
SYNOPSIS
sort [OPTION]... [FILE]... sort [OPTION]... --files0-from=F
DESCRIPTION
Write sorted concatenation of all FILE(s) to standard output.
With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.
Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too. Ordering options:
- -b, --ignore-leading-blanks
ignore leading blanks
- -d, --dictionary-order
consider only blanks and alphanumeric characters
- -f, --ignore-case
fold lower case to upper case characters
- -g, --general-numeric-sort
compare according to general numerical value
- -i, --ignore-nonprinting
consider only printable characters
- -M, --month-sort
compare (unknown) < 'JAN' < ... < 'DEC'
- -h, --human-numeric-sort
compare human readable numbers (e.g., 2K 1G)
- -n, --numeric-sort
compare according to string numerical value; see full documentation for supported strings
- -R, --random-sort
shuffle, but group identical keys. See shuf(1)
- --random-source=FILE
get random bytes from FILE
- -r, --reverse
reverse the result of comparisons
- --sort=WORD
sort according to WORD: general-numeric -g, human-numeric -h, month -M, numeric -n, random -R, version -V
- -V, --version-sort
natural sort of (version) numbers within text
Other options:
- --batch-size=NMERGE
merge at most NMERGE inputs at once; for more use temp files
- -c, --check, --check=diagnose-first
check for sorted input; do not sort
- -C, --check=quiet, --check=silent
like -c, but do not report first bad line
- --compress-program=PROG
compress temporaries with PROG; decompress them with PROG -d
- --debug
annotate the part of the line used to sort, and warn about questionable usage to stderr
- --files0-from=F
read input from the files specified by NUL-terminated names in file F; If F is - then read names from standard input
- -k, --key=KEYDEF
sort via a key; KEYDEF gives location and type
- -m, --merge
merge already sorted files; do not sort
- -o, --output=FILE
write result to FILE instead of standard output
- -s, --stable
stabilize sort by disabling last-resort comparison
- -S, --buffer-size=SIZE
use SIZE for main memory buffer
- -t, --field-separator=SEP
use SEP instead of non-blank to blank transition
- -T, --temporary-directory=DIR
use DIR for temporaries, not $TMPDIR or /tmp; multiple options specify multiple directories
- --parallel=N
change the number of sorts run concurrently to N
- -u, --unique
output only the first of lines with equal keys; with -c, check for strict ordering
- -z, --zero-terminated
line delimiter is NUL, not newline
- --help
display this help and exit
- --version
output version information and exit
KEYDEF is F[.C][OPTS][,F[.C][OPTS]] for start and stop position, where F is a field number and C a character position in the field; both are origin 1, and the stop position defaults to the line's end. If neither -t nor -b is in effect, characters in a field are counted from the beginning of the preceding whitespace. OPTS is one or more single-letter ordering options [bdfgiMhnRrV], which override global ordering options for that key. If no key is given, use the entire line as the key. Use --debug to diagnose incorrect key usage.
SIZE may be followed by the following multiplicative suffixes: % 1% of memory, b 1, K 1024 (default), and so on for M, G, T, P, E, Z, Y, R, Q.
*** WARNING *** The locale specified by the environment affects sort order. Set LC_ALL=C to get the traditional sort order that uses native byte values.
AUTHOR
Written by Mike Haertel and Paul Eggert.
REPORTING BUGS
GNU coreutils online help: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/> Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/>
SEE ALSO
shuf(1), uniq(1)
Full documentation <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/sort> or available locally via: info '(coreutils) sort invocation'
Packaged by Debian (9.7-3) Copyright © 2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>. This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.