Random List Picker

How to use this tool

1. Enter your list items, one per line.
2. Choose how many items to select.
3. Leave 'Allow duplicates' unticked if several picks should all be different.
4. Generate to see your selection.

Understanding the controls

List items

One item a line, typed or pasted into the box; blank lines are left out.

How many to pick

Any whole number from 1 to 500, all picked together in one press.

Allow duplicates

Lets one item come up more than once in the same press. It cannot be on while picks are being removed.

Remove picks so they can't repeat

Takes each pick out of the pool until Reset list puts everything back. When every entry has gone the page says so and picks nothing more. It cannot be on while duplicates are allowed.

Worked examples

Deciding tonight's dinner

Paste eight meals you actually want to cook, pick 1. The point is that you wrote the shortlist — the tool only breaks the tie.

Choosing three films to watch this month

Paste your watchlist, pick 3, with 'Allow duplicates' left unticked so you get three different titles rather than the same one repeated.

Common use cases

• Choosing what to eat, watch, or do
• Randomly assigning items from a shared list
• Picking a subset of options to try first
• Breaking a tie between several choices

How this generator works

Every line becomes one item, and items are chosen with your browser's Web Crypto random generator. With 'Allow duplicates' unticked, which is how the page starts, each item is removed from the pool once picked, so a multi-item selection always returns different items. Tick it and each pick is independent and the same item can appear more than once — useful if you want, say, three picks from a list of moods where a repeat is meaningful.

Limitations and good to know

• The tool has no opinion about your options. It cannot tell you which is better, only which one chance selected — the quality of the answer depends entirely on the quality of the shortlist you type in.
• By default nothing is remembered between presses, so picking again can return the same item; tick 'Remove picks so they can't repeat' to work through the list instead.
• All items are equally likely. Use the weighted picker if some options should come up more often than others.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between this and the name picker?

They share the same underlying selection, but the name picker is set up for people — picking a volunteer, working through a class list without repeats. This one is worded for anything else: meals, films, chores, prizes, ideas. Use whichever labels match what you are choosing.

Can I make one option more likely than the others?

Not here — every item has an equal chance. Use the weighted random picker if some options should come up more often than others.