Random Team Generator
Paste a list of names and split it into fair, balanced random teams. Choose how many teams or how big each team should be, keep certain people together or apart, then share the exact draw with a link.
Roster & settings
Optional rules
How to use this calculator
1. Paste the roster
Drop one name per line into the roster box — a class list, a squad sheet, a stand-up group. Commas work too, so a pasted line such as Alice, Bob, Charlie becomes three entries rather than one long name.
2. Choose how to split
Split by number of teams when the count matters (four relay teams, two debate sides), or by people per team when the size matters (pairs, trios, tables of six). Either way the deal keeps team sizes within one person of each other.
3. Add rules only where they matter
Use keep-apart for the two who never stop talking, and keep-together for a carpool or a mentor pairing. Put one pair per line. Rules are matched without regard to capitalisation, and a name that is not on the roster is flagged rather than ignored.
4. Re-roll, then share
Press Re-roll until a draw feels right — nothing else on the page reshuffles the teams, so you can tweak the roster or the count without losing the draw. Copy the share link and everyone opening it sees exactly these teams.
About random team generation
How random is the draw?
Every draw uses a Fisher-Yates shuffle seeded by crypto.getRandomValues, the browser's cryptographic random source, with rejection sampling so no position is favoured. If that API is unavailable the tool falls back to Math.random. The shuffle changes only when you press Re-roll, so editing a name or changing the team count will not quietly reshuffle everyone.
What happens if a keep-apart rule cannot be satisfied?
After the round-robin deal the tool tries a bounded series of swaps that keep team sizes balanced while removing rule violations. Some combinations are impossible — three teammates who must stay together in teams of two, for example. When a rule cannot be met the tool says so and names the rule instead of silently ignoring it.
Will everyone who opens my share link see the same teams?
Yes. The share link stores the roster, the settings and the exact shuffled draw, so anyone who opens it sees the same teams in the same order. Press Re-roll after opening a link and you get a fresh draw, which needs a new link to share.