About Audio Sort

I created Audio Sort to "hear" what sorting algorithms sound like. You can watch and listen to each algorithm at work, then edit its code to see how small changes affect the result.

Why it started in 2013

The project was also an excuse to experiment with relatively new web technologies: Web Audio, responsive design with Bootstrap 2, Web Workers, and D3. Sorting gave me a way to bring them together in one browser experiment.

Timbre.js handled the sound, D3 drew the visualizations, and Bootstrap made the interface adapt to different screen sizes. Web Workers ran the sorting algorithms without blocking the interface. Along with editable algorithms and MIDI export, those pieces made Audio Sort a playground for learning about both sorting and the web.

The original project page lists the libraries and links to other sorting experiments.

What changed in 2026

A bug report about Edit Algorithm brought me back to the project. The fix was small: the editor assumed a particular format for Function.toString() output. The breakage appears to date back to the 2019 ECMAScript changes to that output, with a line break before the function arguments tripping up the old code.

Once that worked again, I decided to use the project to gain more experience modernizing a legacy codebase with AI. That meant untangling the jQuery soup, separating settings and playback from the interface, and updating the libraries and build tools.

React now renders the interface and charts, with Tailwind CSS and shadcn components replacing the old Bootstrap controls. Jotai manages settings, TypeScript helps check the code, and Vite and TanStack Start build the site for static hosting. D3 still supplies chart utilities, and Timbre still handles synthesis, with native browser audio decoding replacing the old sample-loading scripts.

The tools have changed, but the idea is the same: a place to experiment, learn, and make a little music out of sorting.

Try it or get involved

Start Sorting or read the Algorithm API to write your own algorithm. If you find a bug or have a feature request, open an issue.