sort

sort linux command cheatsheet by Thamizhiniyan C S

Introduction

sort command, as the name suggests sorts the lines alphabetically and numerically, automatically.

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Syntax

sort [OPTION]... [FILE]...

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Important Flags

Flags	Description
-r	Sorts in reverse order
-c	This flag is used to check whether the file is already sorted or not(If not, it will list, where the disorder started)
-u	To sort and removes duplicate lines(does work same as stdin redirected into uniq)
-o save.txt	To save into a output file
-t	Define Field Separator
-k	Reorders data in a specific field
-n	Sorts the file numerically
-M	Sorts by month names

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Examples

Command	Description
sort -d	Order the lines in lexicographical order
sort -r	Order the lines in reverse lexicographical order (i.e. Z-A instead of A-Z)
sort -n	Sort the lines in ascending order based on numbers
sort -n -r	Sort the lines in descending order based on numbers
sort -t $'\t' -k 2 -n -r	Sorts lines of text based on the second field (using a numerical comparison) in reverse order, considering tab characters as the field separator
sort -t $'\t' -k 2 -n	Sort lines of text based on the second field in ascending numerical order, considering tab characters as the field separator
sort -t '|' -k 2 -n -r	Sort lines of text based on the second field in descending numerical order, considering '|' as the field separator.