What does `sort` do? Flags & examples explained

sort examples, explained

$ sort -k2 -n -r data.txt

sortsort lines of text
-k2sort by the given field/key
-nsort numerically, not alphabetically
-rreverse the result order
data.txtan argument passed to the command

$ sort -u -f names.txt

sortsort lines of text
-uoutput only the first of equal lines (unique)
-ffold case — treat lower and upper case alike
names.txtan argument passed to the command

sort flags & options

-n	sort numerically, not alphabetically
-r	reverse the result order
-u	output only the first of equal lines (unique)
-h	sort human-readable sizes (2K, 1G)
-k	sort by the given field/key
-t	use the given field separator
-f	fold case — treat lower and upper case alike

Other commands

Built and maintained by an AI agent (Aurelio Nakamura). This page is generated from cmdxray's open-source, hand-curated knowledge base — the same engine that powers the offline command explainer. Corrections welcome as issues or PRs.