How to randomize a list
- Enter your items in the list, one per line. Names, tasks, songs, questions: anything goes.
- Press Shuffle. The rows swap places and are numbered from the top.
- Press it again for another order, as often as you like.
- Use Copy to take the numbered order with you, or Use this order as my list to keep it.
When you need a random order
A random order settles who goes first without a discussion: presentation slots, batting orders, speaking turns in a meeting, the running order of a quiz, the sequence of bands at an open mic night. Teachers use it to shuffle the order in which students come to the board, and hosts shuffle a playlist or a list of questions so no round feels the same twice. Researchers and organisers use it to put survey items or test conditions in random sequence.
Is every order equally likely?
Yes. The list is shuffled with the Fisher-Yates algorithm, the textbook method that produces every possible order with the same probability. A common shortcut, sorting with a random comparison, looks random but is not; some orders come up more often. This tool does not use it. The random numbers come from crypto.getRandomValues in your browser, and numbers that would introduce a bias are discarded and drawn again.
Because the shuffle is a pure re-ordering, no item is lost, duplicated or changed. You always get back exactly the entries you put in, just in a new order.
Details that save time
Blank lines are skipped. Text pasted from a spreadsheet column keeps one item per row. Duplicates are flagged under the list so you can remove them with one click before shuffling. Your list is stored in your browser, and the same list is available in the wheel, the name picker and the group generator, so you can shuffle first and then split into groups.
FAQ
How do I put a list in random order?
Paste it into the list and press Shuffle. The numbers show the new order.
Is this really random and not just a trick?
It uses a Fisher-Yates shuffle with your browser's cryptographic random generator, so every order has the same chance.
Can I keep the shuffled order?
Yes. Press Use this order as my list, and the list on every tool is replaced with it.
How long can the list be?
Several hundred lines work well. For very long lists the animation is shortened, the result is the same.