Count list item occurrences

Count list item occurrences and get a frequency table. Each line of output is `count<tab>item` - default sort is frequency descending with alphabetical tiebreak, so the most common item comes first. Case-insensitive with trim by default.

Input
Ready
Output
Live

Tab-separated frequency table

Same op as Find most frequent list items - tabulates occurrences via a `Map`, emits one `count\titem` line per unique value. The tab separator means the output pastes directly into a two-column spreadsheet.

Default Sort by Frequency lists `banana (3)` before `apple (2)` before `orange (1)`. Ties are broken alphabetically for stable output. Switch to Alphabetical to see items A-Z regardless of count.

Case sensitive off (default) collapses `Apple` and `apple` into a single entry - the first-seen casing is displayed. Trim on (default) strips whitespace before tallying, so ` apple ` and `apple` count together.

How to use count list item occurrences

  1. 1Paste your list into the input panel
  2. 2Toggle Case sensitive to distinguish cased variants (default: off)
  3. 3Toggle Trim to normalise whitespace before tallying (default: on)
  4. 4Pick Sort by: Frequency (default, most-common first) or Alphabetical
  5. 5Output is `count<tab>item` per line - paste into a spreadsheet

Keyboard shortcuts

Drive ListShift without touching the mouse.

Shortcut Action
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Ctrl Shift ZRedo
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Ctrl SSave current pipeline draft Plus
Ctrl PRun a saved pipeline Plus

What this tool actually does

Map-based frequency tally with three options.

Tab-separated `count<tab>item` output

Each unique value emits one line: count, tab, item text. Pastes cleanly into Excel / Sheets as two columns.

Frequency-desc default with alphabetical tiebreak

Most common first. Ties sorted A-Z among themselves for stable output.

Case-insensitive by default

`Apple` and `apple` count together. First-seen casing is displayed. Toggle Case sensitive on for strict matching.

Trim-aware by default

`Apple` and ` Apple ` merge into one entry. The tallied key is the trimmed form; the displayed text is the first-seen trimmed value.

Blank lines skipped

Empty or whitespace-only lines are not tallied. You will not see an empty-string entry in the output.

Worked example

Six lines, three unique values. `banana` appears three times so it tops the output.

Input
apple
banana
apple
orange
banana
banana
Output
3	banana
2	apple
1	orange

Settings reference

How each option shapes the output using the sample above.

Setting What it does Effect on the sample
Sort by: Frequency (default) Most common first, alphabetical tiebreak `3\tbanana` / `2\tapple` / `1\torange`
Sort by: Alphabetical A → Z by item name `2\tapple` / `3\tbanana` / `1\torange`
Case sensitive: on Cased variants separate First-seen casing would no longer merge mixed-case inputs
Trim: off Whitespace counts as distinctive ` apple` and `apple` become two entries

FAQ

How is this different from Find most frequent list items?
Same op, same output format, same defaults. Find most frequent is the search-intent sibling; this page is the count-oriented framing.
Why is the output tab-separated instead of `item: count`?
The tab separator means the output pastes directly into Excel / Sheets as two columns. For a different format, chain Replace to swap the tab for `: ` or whatever you prefer.
How are ties broken?
Alphabetically. Two items with the same count appear A-Z among themselves, so output is stable - running twice on the same input produces the same result.
Does it count blank lines?
No - lines where `trim()` is empty are dropped before tallying.
Which casing is shown when Case sensitive is off?
The first occurrence's casing. If your input has `apple, Apple, apple`, the output shows `apple` with a count of 3.