Count lines with wc and sort a file
Use wc -l to count lines, then sort to put names in order.
Start Interactive Lesson
Logs and lists are easier to judge when you know how long they are. wc -l prints a line count. sort puts the lines in order so duplicates and gaps are obvious.
Count lines: wc -l
-l means lines (not words or bytes). Pass a filename.
Count the lines in a file!
How many accounts?
The number comes first, then the filename. Pipe into wc -l when you already filtered with grep.
Put lines in order: sort
sort reads a file and prints the lines alphabetically. It does not change the file unless you redirect the output.
printf '%s\n' 'Zebra' 'Apple' > names.txt
sort names.txt
Zebra then Apple on disk becomes Apple then Zebra on the screen.
Count first when you need a size. Sort when you need to scan the values. Combine them later with a pipe: sort names.txt | wc -l.
Knowledge Check
1 / 3What does wc -l file print?
References
These documentation links provide authoritative details for the commands used in this article.
Up Next
Combine grep, pipes, and redirection to extract and analyze data.