Syntax#

• :[range]sor[t][!] [b][f][i][n][o][r][u][x] [/{pattern}/]

• Note: Options [n][f][x][o][b] are mutually exclusive.

Remarks#

See sorting in the vim manual for the canonical explanation

Sorting text

Normal sorting

Highlight the text to sort, and the type:

:sort

If you don’t highlight text or specify a range, the whole buffer is sorted.

Reverse sorting

:sort!

Case insensitive sorting

:sort i

Numerical sorting

Sort by the first number to appear on each line:

:sort n

Remove duplicates after sorting

:sort u (u stands for unique)

Combining options

To get a reverse case-insensitive sort with duplicates removed:

:sort! iu