Group maker
Split a list of names into random groups of a size you choose.
Runs in this tab. The file stays here.
Add names, then make groups.
Uses crypto.getRandomValues for the shuffle.
This runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
About Group maker
Paste a list of names and split them into random groups, by number of groups or people per group. The shuffle runs in your browser.
One name per line, then choose how to split: by the number of groups you want, or by how many people go in each. Press Make groups and the right-hand side fills with Group 1, Group 2 and so on. Press the same button again (it becomes Shuffle again) for a new split, and Copy gives you the lot as plain text, one line per group. Blank lines are ignored, and names are used exactly as typed, so a name that appears twice will be in the list twice.
Names are shuffled with the browser's cryptographic random generator, then dealt out in turn, like cards. That's why the groups are as even as they can be, with sizes differing by at most one. People per group works out how many groups that makes first: ten people at four per group becomes three groups of four, three, and three, not four, four, and two. If the numbers imply fewer than two groups, you get a single shuffled group.
That's the whole tool. There's no way to keep two people apart or together, no weighting by skill, no saved rosters, and no history of previous splits to avoid repeats. The names live in the text box and the groups in the page, and both disappear when you close the tab. A teacher who wants "never the same pairs twice" would need to track that outside this page.
How to use Group maker
- 1Paste one name per line.
- 2Choose Number of groups or People per group, and enter the value.
- 3Click Make groups, and Shuffle again if you want a different split.
- 4Copy the result as text.
What it won't do
- No constraints, weighting, or saved rosters.
- Duplicate names are not merged.
- Nothing is stored; the list and groups are gone when you close the tab.
Common questions
What happens when the names don't divide evenly?
Some groups get one extra person. Because names are dealt out one at a time, sizes never differ by more than one. With people per group, the remainder is spread across groups rather than left in a small one.
Can I stop two people from landing in the same group?
No. There are no constraints. Re-shuffle until the split works, or arrange those people by hand.
Is it really random?
It uses the browser's crypto.getRandomValues for a Fisher-Yates shuffle, so there's no pattern to exploit and nothing seeded. Every press gives an independent result.
Related tools
Why this one doesn't upload your file
There is no server to upload to. This page is a static file, and the work happens in your browser using the same graphics and WebAssembly code that renders every other site you visit. Your file is read from disk into memory, processed, and handed back as a download. Once the page has loaded you can disconnect from the network entirely and it keeps working. The longer explanation