About the Random Picker
When you need to choose fairly from a list, a name for a prize draw, a restaurant for lunch, a reviewer for a pull request, this tool does it. Paste your options one per line and it picks the number you ask for, without repeats, using the browser's secure random source so no item is favoured.
A few rules govern what counts as an option. Blank lines are ignored and each line is trimmed, so stray spaces from a spreadsheet column do not create phantom entries. Duplicates, though, are kept exactly as written, and that is useful rather than a bug: listing a name twice genuinely doubles its chance, which is the simplest way to run a weighted draw with no extra settings. Asking for more picks than there are lines simply returns the whole list, since selection is without replacement.
It is the multi-option counterpart to the coin flip, and it earns its keep in a stand-up when someone has to demo, or on a spreadsheet of raffle entries pasted straight in. For choosing from a numeric range instead of a list, use the Random Number Generator; to put the whole list into a random order rather than picking from it, the Shuffle Lines tool; to strip repeats before an unweighted draw, Remove Duplicate Lines.
How to use
- Paste your options, one per line.
- Set how many to pick.
- Press Pick.
Common questions
- Are picks without repeats?
- Yes. Picking several gives distinct items, up to the number in your list.
- Is every option equally likely?
- Yes, the choice uses a fair secure random source.
- How do I randomise the whole list?
- Use Shuffle Lines to reorder every item randomly.