Team Generator

about this tool

Names in, teams out

Paste the list one per line, choose how you want it split, and go. Blank lines are ignored and everything is trimmed, so a list copied out of a spreadsheet or a chat works without tidying first.

Two ways to split, because people mean different things by it:

• Into a number of teams. Four teams from whoever is here, however many that turns out to be.
• Into teams of a size. Pairs, or fours, however many teams that makes.

The remainder, which is the whole problem

Eleven people into three teams is the case worth getting right. The remainder is spread one person at a time, so the answer is 4, 4, 3, not 5, 3, 3. The page says which it will be before you press anything, so there is no surprise.

Teams of a fixed size work the other way round: the list is filled into full teams and the last one takes what is left. Eleven in fours is three teams and the third has three people. That is the honest answer rather than a tidier one, and the page says so.

Asking for more teams than there are people is refused, with the number that would have been left empty, rather than quietly making empty teams.

Why the split is fair

The list is shuffled before it is dealt, with Fisher-Yates over the browser's cryptographic random source. Every arrangement of the list is equally likely, so every person is equally likely to end up in any team.

Dealing from a shuffled list also means the teams do not depend on the order you typed the names in, which a simpler "every third person" split would.

What it does not do

It has no idea who should be kept apart or put together. There are no seeds, no skill levels and no history of previous weeks. If two people should not be on the same team, reshuffle or move them by hand.

Nothing is stored between visits. The names and the teams live in the page until you leave, so copy them if they matter.

To pull a single name out of a list rather than divide it, use the random picker.

questions

What happens when the names do not divide evenly?

The remainder is spread one person at a time, so eleven into three teams is 4, 4, 3 rather than 5, 3, 3. The page says which it will be before you split, and again afterwards.

Can I make teams of a fixed size instead?

Yes. Switch to "teams of n" and the list is filled into teams of that size, with the last team taking whatever is left. Eleven people in fours is three teams, one of them short.

Are the teams actually random?

The list is shuffled with Fisher-Yates over the browser’s cryptographic random source before it is dealt out, so every arrangement is equally likely and every person is equally likely to land in any team.

Can I keep two people apart, or together?

No. This splits at random and has no notion of who should avoid whom. Reshuffle until it looks right, or split the awkward pair by hand afterwards.

Are my teams saved?

No. Nothing is stored on your device and nothing is sent anywhere, so a refresh starts again. Copy the teams if you need them.