List Randomizer

No. The shuffling, picking, and grouping all happen in your browser with JavaScript. Nothing is sent to a server, so you can use it with real names, emails, or entry lists without worrying about where the data ends up.

It uses a Fisher-Yates shuffle, the standard algorithm for producing an unbiased random order: every possible arrangement of the list is equally likely. It's not a cryptographically secure random number generator, so it's not meant for anything like generating security keys, but for picking a raffle winner, ordering a presentation lineup, or randomizing a playlist, it's exactly what you want.

Yes, that's one of the main reasons people use it. Paste your list of entries, set "How many winners?" to however many prizes you have, and click Pick Random. If you're running multiple rounds, turn on "Remove picked items from the list" so nobody can win twice.

The tool picks everyone rather than erroring out, and shows a note telling you it adjusted the number. Ten winners requested from a list of six just means all six get picked.

It shuffles the whole list first, then deals items into the number of groups you choose, one at a time, so the group sizes stay as even as possible. It's built for things like splitting a class into project teams or dividing a guest list into tables, where you want a fair, non-alphabetical mix.

Every item still gets placed into a group, but some groups will end up empty since there simply isn't enough to go around. Nothing breaks, you'll just see fewer non-empty groups than requested.

Only if you click "Remove Duplicates" yourself. By default, duplicate entries are left alone, since a repeated name is sometimes intentional, like giving someone extra raffle entries. Turn on "Case-Insensitive Duplicate Detection" first if "John" and "john" should count as the same entry.

Yes. Every action that changes the list, including Shuffle, Split, and the line tools, can be undone from the Undo button in the toolbar, going back up to 25 steps.

Yes. Download saves the current list as a plain .txt file, and Copy to Clipboard copies it for pasting into an email, spreadsheet, or chat. The Winners panel also has its own Copy Winners button so you can grab just the picked names without the rest of the list.