sort Command Examples in Linux

The sort command is used to sort the lines of a text file in ascending or descending order, or sort as per a specified key. The sort command arranges the lines in a file. Common sort command options are provided in the table.

Option Description
-k{column numbers} Specify field values. For example, -k2 indicates the second field.
-n Compare and sort lines based on the string numerical value.
-r Sort fields in descending order. By default, the fields are sorted in ascending order.
-t{delimiter} Separate one field from another.

Syntax

The syntax of the sort command is:

# sort [options] {file names}

sort Command Examples

1. Sort a file in ascending order:

# sort path/to/file

2. Sort a file in descending order:

# sort --reverse path/to/file

3. Sort a file in case-insensitive way:

# sort --ignore-case path/to/file

4. Sort a file using numeric rather than alphabetic order:

# sort --numeric-sort path/to/file

5. Sort `/etc/passwd` by the 3rd field of each line numerically, using “:” as a field separator:

# sort --field-separator=: --key=3n /etc/passwd

6. Sort a file preserving only unique lines:

# sort --unique path/to/file

7. Sort a file, printing the output to the specified output file (can be used to sort a file in-place):

# sort --output=path/to/file path/to/file

8. Sort numbers with exponents:

# sort --general-numeric-sort path/to/file
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