How to use the Line Tools (Clean & Transform)
A Swiss-army knife for line-based text: sort, dedupe, reverse, trim, prefix / suffix, quote, join with a delimiter, split into lines, number, change case, and remove empty lines. Use it to prepare a list of IDs for a SQL IN clause, clean up a CSV column, transform a list of file names for a shell script, deduplicate a log dump, or build a JSON array from a paste. Runs locally; nothing leaves your browser.
What it does
- Sort (alphabetical, numeric, length, reverse).
- Deduplicate lines (preserving or sorting order).
- Trim whitespace; remove empty lines.
- Prefix / suffix each line; quote in single, double, or backticks.
- Join lines with a delimiter (comma, tab, pipe, custom) or split a single line into many.
- Number lines, reverse order, shuffle, change case.
- Filter by substring or regex (with the Regex Tester as a companion).
- Counts and stats: total lines, unique lines, blank lines.
When to use it
- Prepare a list of IDs to drop into a SQL IN clause.
- Convert a spreadsheet column into a quoted JavaScript / Python / shell array.
- Clean a deduplicated email list before sending.
- Strip empty lines and trailing whitespace from a config snippet.
- Number lines for a code review reference, or reverse a log dump.
- Build a comma-separated list from line-delimited input.
How to use it
- Paste your text lines into the input box.
- Pick an operation (sort, dedupe, trim, prefix, quote, join, etc.) — results appear live.
- Chain operations: sort then dedupe then quote, for example, before copying out.
- Copy the result, or hand off to SQL IN Builder, List Comparator, or CSV Viewer.
Tips & pitfalls
- Numeric sort puts
10 after 2; lexical puts 10 before 2 — pick the right one for IDs.
- Trim before deduping — invisible trailing spaces create false duplicates.
- Quoting strings for SQL: use single quotes (
'value') and escape embedded quotes by doubling (O''Brien).
- When joining with comma to make a SQL IN clause, prefer the SQL IN Builder which handles quoting and chunking.
- For large lists (10k+ lines), operations are still local — but expect a brief delay on slower devices.
FAQ
- How do I remove duplicate lines online? Paste the lines, click Dedupe, optionally sort first for grouped output.
- How do I sort lines alphabetically? Click Sort A→Z; switch to numeric sort for ID lists.
- How do I add quotes around each line? Use the Quote action and pick single, double, or backticks.
- Can I prefix or suffix every line? Yes — Prefix and Suffix add the same text to each line.
- Is my text uploaded? No. All transformations run in your browser.
- How do I build a SQL IN list? Dedupe and quote in Line Tools, then paste into SQL or use the dedicated SQL IN Builder.
Runs locally in your browser. No uploads. Share links use an encrypted URL fragment.
