Sort-Object
SYNOPSIS
Sorts objects by property values.
SYNTAX
Default (Default)
Sort-Object [-Stable] [-Descending] [-Unique] [-InputObject <PSObject>] [[-Property] <Object[]>]
[-Culture <String>] [-CaseSensitive] [<CommonParameters>]
Top
Sort-Object [-Descending] [-Unique] -Top <Int32> [-InputObject <PSObject>] [[-Property] <Object[]>]
[-Culture <String>] [-CaseSensitive] [<CommonParameters>]
Bottom
Sort-Object [-Descending] [-Unique] -Bottom <Int32> [-InputObject <PSObject>] [[-Property] <Object[]>]
[-Culture <String>] [-CaseSensitive] [<CommonParameters>]
DESCRIPTION
The `Sort-Object` cmdlet sorts objects in ascending or descending order based on object property values. If sort properties are not included in a command, PowerShell uses default sort properties of the first input object. If the type of the input object has no default sort properties, PowerShell attempts to compare the objects themselves. For more information, see the Notes (#notes)section.
You can sort objects by a single property or multiple properties. Multiple properties use hash tables to sort in ascending order, descending order, or a combination of sort orders. Properties are sorted as case-sensitive or case-insensitive. Use the Unique parameter to eliminate duplicates from the output.
EXAMPLES
Example 1: Sort the current directory by name
Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Test | Sort-Object
Directory: C:\Test
Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
-a---- 2/13/2019 08:55 26 anotherfile.txt
-a---- 2/13/2019 13:26 20 Bfile.txt
-a---- 2/12/2019 15:40 118014 Command.txt
-a---- 2/1/2019 08:43 183 CreateTestFile.ps1
d----- 2/25/2019 18:25 Files
d----- 2/25/2019 18:24 Logs
-ar--- 2/12/2019 14:31 27 ReadOnlyFile.txt
-a---- 2/12/2019 16:24 23 Zsystemlog.log
The `Get-ChildItem` cmdlet gets the files and subdirectories from the directory specified by the Path parameter, `C:\Test`. The objects are sent down the pipeline to the `Sort-Object` cmdlet. `Sort-Object` does not specify a property so the output is sorted by the default sort property, Name .
Example 2: Sort the current directory by file length
Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Test -File | Sort-Object -Property Length
Directory: C:\Test
Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
-a---- 2/13/2019 13:26 20 Bfile.txt
-a---- 2/12/2019 16:24 23 Zsystemlog.log
-a---- 2/13/2019 08:55 26 anotherfile.txt
-ar--- 2/12/2019 14:31 27 ReadOnlyFile.txt
-a---- 2/1/2019 08:43 183 CreateTestFile.ps1
-a---- 2/12/2019 15:40 118014 Command.txt
The `Get-ChildItem` cmdlet gets the files from the directory specified by the Path parameter. The File parameter specifies that `Get-ChildItem` only gets file objects. The objects are sent down the pipeline to the `Sort-Object` cmdlet. `Sort-Object` uses the Length parameter to sort the files by length in ascending order.
Example 3: Sort processes by memory usage
Get-Process | Sort-Object -Property WS | Select-Object -Last 5
NPM(K) PM(M) WS(M) CPU(s) Id SI ProcessName
------ ----- ----- ------ -- -- -----------
136 193.92 217.11 889.16 87492 8 OUTLOOK
112 347.73 297.02 95.19 106908 8 Teams
206 266.54 323.71 37.17 60620 8 MicrosoftEdgeCP
35 552.19 549.94 131.66 6552 8 Code
0 1.43 595.12 0.00 2780 0 Memory Compression
The `Get-Process` cmdlet gets the list of processes running on the computer. The process objects are sent down the pipeline to the `Sort-Object` cmdlet. `Sort-Object` uses the Property parameter to sort the objects by WS . The objects are sent down the pipeline to the `Select-Object` cmdlet. `Select-Object` uses the Last parameter to specify the last five objects, which are the objects with the highest WS usage.
In PowerShell 6, the `Sort-Object` parameter Bottom is an alternative to `Select-Object`. For example, `Get-Process | Sort-Object -Property WS -Bottom 5`.
Example 4: Sort HistoryInfo objects by Id
Get-History | Sort-Object -Property Id -Descending
Id CommandLine
-- -----------
10 Get-Command Sort-Object -Syntax
9 $PSVersionTable
8 Get-Command Sort-Object -Syntax
7 Get-Command Sort-Object -ShowCommandInfo
6 Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Test | Sort-Object -Property Length
5 Get-Help Clear-History -online
4 Get-Help Clear-History -full
3 Get-ChildItem | Get-Member
2 Get-Command Sort-Object -Syntax
1 Set-Location C:\Test\
The `Get-History` cmdlet gets the history objects from the current PowerShell session. The objects are sent down the pipeline to the `Sort-Object` cmdlet. `Sort-Object` uses the Property parameter to sort the objects by Id . The Descending parameter sorts the command history from newest to oldest.
Example 5: Use a hash table to sort properties in ascending and descending order
Get-Service |
Sort-Object -Property @{Expression = "Status"; Descending = $true},
@{Expression = "DisplayName"; Descending = $false}
Status Name DisplayName
------ ---- -----------
Running Appinfo Application Information
Running BthAvctpSvc AVCTP service
Running BrokerInfrastru... Background Tasks Infrastructure Ser...
Running BDESVC BitLocker Drive Encryption Service
Running CoreMessagingRe... CoreMessaging
Running VaultSvc Credential Manager
Running DsSvc Data Sharing Service
Running Dhcp DHCP Client
...
Stopped ALG Application Layer Gateway Service
Stopped AppMgmt Application Management
Stopped BITS Background Intelligent Transfer Ser...
Stopped wbengine Block Level Backup Engine Service
Stopped BluetoothUserSe... Bluetooth User Support Service_14fb...
Stopped COMSysApp COM+ System Application
Stopped smstsmgr ConfigMgr Task Sequence Agent
Stopped DeviceInstall Device Install Service
Stopped MSDTC Distributed Transaction Coordinator
The `Get-Service` cmdlet gets the list of services on the computer. The service objects are sent down the pipeline to the `Sort-Object` cmdlet. `Sort-Object` uses the Property parameter with a hash table to specify the property names and sort orders. The Property parameter is sorted by two properties, Status in descending order and DisplayName in ascending order. Status is an enumerated property. Stopped has a value of 1 and Running has a value of 4 . The Descending parameter is set to `$True` so that Running processes are displayed before Stopped processes. DisplayName sets the Descending parameter to `$False` to sort the display names in alphabetical order.
Example 6: Sort text files by time span
Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Test\*.txt |
Sort-Object -Property {$_.CreationTime - $_.LastWriteTime} |
Format-Table CreationTime, LastWriteTime, FullName
CreationTime LastWriteTime FullName
------------ ------------- --------
11/21/2018 12:39:01 2/26/2019 08:59:36 C:\Test\test2.txt
12/4/2018 08:29:41 2/26/2019 08:57:05 C:\Test\powershell_list.txt
2/20/2019 08:15:59 2/26/2019 12:09:43 C:\Test\CreateTestFile.txt
2/20/2019 08:15:59 2/26/2019 12:07:41 C:\Test\Command.txt
2/20/2019 08:15:59 2/26/2019 08:57:52 C:\Test\ReadOnlyFile.txt
11/29/2018 15:16:50 12/4/2018 16:16:24 C:\Test\LogData.txt
2/25/2019 18:25:11 2/26/2019 12:08:47 C:\Test\Zsystemlog.txt
2/25/2019 18:25:11 2/26/2019 08:55:33 C:\Test\Bfile.txt
2/26/2019 08:46:59 2/26/2019 12:12:19 C:\Test\LogFile3.txt
The `Get-ChildItem` cmdlet uses the Path parameter to specify the directory `C:\Test` and all of the `*.txt` files. The objects are sent down the pipeline to the `Sort-Object` cmdlet. `Sort-Object` uses the Property parameter with a scriptblock to determine each files time span between CreationTime and LastWriteTime .
Example 7: Sort names in a text file
# All items unsorted
Get-Content -Path C:\Test\ServerNames.txt
localhost
server01
server25
LOCALHOST
Server19
server3
localhost
# All items sorted
Get-Content -Path C:\Test\ServerNames.txt | Sort-Object
localhost
LOCALHOST
localhost
server01
Server19
server25
server3
# Unique filtered items sorted
Get-Content -Path C:\Test\ServerNames.txt | Sort-Object -Unique
localhost
server01
Server19
server25
server3
The `Get-Content` cmdlet uses the Path parameter to specify the directory and file name. The file `ServerNames.txt` contains an unsorted list of computer names.
The `Get-Content` cmdlet uses the Path parameter to specify the directory and file name. The file `ServerNames.txt` contains an unsorted list of computer names. The objects are sent down the pipeline to the `Sort-Object` cmdlet. `Sort-Object` sorts the list in the default order, ascending.
The `Get-Content` cmdlet uses the Path parameter to specify the directory and file name. The file `ServerNames.txt` contains an unsorted list of computer names. The objects are sent down the pipeline to the `Sort-Object` cmdlet. `Sort-Object` uses the Unique parameter to remove duplicate computer names. The list is sorted in the default order, ascending.
Example 8: Sort a string as an integer
# String sorted
Get-Content -Path C:\Test\ProductId.txt | Sort-Object
0
1
12345
1500
2
2800
3500
4100
500
6200
77
88
99999
# Integer sorted
Get-Content -Path C:\Test\ProductId.txt | Sort-Object {[int]$_}
0
1
2
77
88
500
1500
2800
3500
4100
6200
12345
99999
In the second example, `Get-Content` gets the contents of the file and pipes lines to the `Sort-Object` cmdlet. `Sort-Object` uses a script block to convert the strings to integers. In the sample code, `[int]` converts the string to an integer and `$_` represents each string as it comes down the pipeline. The integer objects are sent down the pipeline to the `Sort-Object` cmdlet. `Sort-Object` sorts the integer objects in numeric order.
Example 9: Using stable sorts
1..20 |Sort-Object {$_ % 3}
18
3
15
6
12
9
1
16
13
10
7
4
19
11
8
14
5
17
2
20
1..20 |Sort-Object {$_ % 3} -Stable
3
6
9
12
15
18
1
4
7
10
13
16
19
2
5
8
11
14
17
20
The output from the first sort is correctly grouped by the modulus value but the individual items are not sorted within the modulus range. The second sort uses the Stable option to return a stable sort.
PARAMETERS
-Bottom
Specifies the number of objects to get from the end of a sorted object array. This results in a stable sort.
This parameter was introduced in PowerShell 6.0.
Type: System.Int32
Parameter Sets: Bottom
Aliases:
Required: True
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-CaseSensitive
Indicates that the sort is case-sensitive. By default, sorts are not case-sensitive.
Type: System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: Case-insensitive
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Culture
Specifies the cultural configuration to use for sorts. Use `Get-Culture` to display the system's culture configuration.
Type: System.String
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Descending
Indicates that `Sort-Object` sorts the objects in descending order. The default is ascending order.
To sort multiple properties with different sort orders, use a hash table. For example, with a hash table you can sort one property in ascending order and another property in descending order.
Type: System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: Ascending
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-InputObject
To sort objects, send them down the pipeline to `Sort-Object`. If you use the InputObject parameter to submit a collection of items, `Sort-Object` receives one object that represents the collection. Because one object cannot be sorted, `Sort-Object` returns the entire collection unchanged.
Type: System.Management.Automation.PSObject
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByValue)
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Property
Specifies the property names that `Sort-Object` uses to sort the objects. Wildcards are permitted. Objects are sorted based on the property values. If you do not specify a property, `Sort-Object` sorts based on default properties for the object type or the objects themselves.
Multiple properties can be sorted in ascending order, descending order, or a combination of sort orders. When you specify multiple properties, the objects are sorted by the first property. If multiple objects have the same value for the first property, those objects are sorted by the second property. This process continues until there are no more specified properties or no groups of objects.
The Property parameter's value can be a calculated property. To create a calculated property, use a scriptblock or a hashtable.
Valid keys for a hash table are as follows:
- `expression` - `\<string>` or `\<script block>`
- `ascending` or `descending` - `\<boolean>`
For more information, see about_Calculated_Properties (../Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_Calculated_Properties.md).
Type: System.Object[]
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: 0
Default value: Default properties
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Stable
The sorted objects are delivered in the order they were received when the sort criteria are equal.
This parameter was added in PowerShell v6.2.0.
Type: System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: Default
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Top
Specifies the number of objects to get from the start of a sorted object array. This results in a stable sort.
This parameter was introduced in PowerShell 6.0.
Type: System.Int32
Parameter Sets: Top
Aliases:
Required: True
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Unique
Indicates that `Sort-Object` eliminates duplicates and returns only the unique members of the collection. The first instance of a unique value is included in the sorted output. Unique is case-insensitive. Strings that only differ by character case are considered the same. For example, character and CHARACTER.
Type: System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: All
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
CommonParameters
This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -InformationAction, -InformationVariable, -OutVariable, -OutBuffer, -PipelineVariable, -Verbose, -WarningAction, and -WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.
INPUTS
System.Management.Automation.PSObject
You can pipe the objects to be sorted to `Sort-Object`.
OUTPUTS
System.Management.Automation.PSObject
`Sort-Object` returns the sorted objects.
NOTES
The `Sort-Object` cmdlet sorts objects based on properties specified in the command or the default sort properties for the object type. Default sort properties are defined using the `PropertySet` named `DefaultKeyPropertySet` in a `types.ps1xml` file. For more information, see about_Types.ps1xml (/powershell/module/Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_Types.ps1xml).
If an object does not have one of the specified properties, the property value for that object is interpreted by `Sort-Object` as Null and placed at the end of the sort order.
When no sort properties are available, PowerShell attempts to compare the objects themselves. `Sort-Object` uses the Compare method for each property. If a property does not implement IComparable , the cmdlet converts the property value to a string and uses the Compare method for System.String . For more information, see PSObject.CompareTo(Object) Method (/dotnet/api/system.management.automation.psobject.compareto).
If you sort on an enumerated property such as Status , `Sort-Object` sorts by the enumeration values. For Windows services, Stopped has a value of 1 and Running has a value of 4 . Stopped is sorted before Running because of the enumerated values. For more information, see ServiceControllerStatus (/dotnet/api/system.serviceprocess.servicecontrollerstatus).
The performance of the sorting algorithm is slower when doing a stable sort.