diff --git a/docs/plugins/sort.rst b/docs/plugins/sort.rst
index cc86b3ddd..12684175f 100644
--- a/docs/plugins/sort.rst
+++ b/docs/plugins/sort.rst
@@ -1,33 +1,51 @@
-sort-items
-==========
-Sort the visible item list::
-
-    sort-items order [order...]
+sort
+====
+Tags:
+:dfhack-keybind:`sort-items`
+:dfhack-keybind:`sort-units`
 
-Sort the item list using the given sequence of comparisons.
-The ``<`` prefix for an order makes undefined values sort first.
-The ``>`` prefix reverses the sort order for defined values.
+Sort the visible item or unit list.
 
-Item order examples::
+Usage::
 
-    description material wear type quality
+    sort-items <property> [<property> ...]
+    sort-units <property> [<property> ...]
 
-The orderings are defined in ``hack/lua/plugins/sort/*.lua``
+Both commands sort the visible list using the given sequence of comparisons.
+Each property can be prefixed with a ``<`` or ``>`` character to indicate
+whether elements that don't have the given property defined go first or last
+(respectively) in the sorted list.
 
-sort-units
-==========
-Sort the visible unit list::
+Examples
+--------
 
-    sort-units order [order...]
+``sort-items material type quality``
+    Sort a list of items by material, then by type, then by quality
+``sort-units profession name``
+    Sort a list of units by profession, then by name
 
-Sort the unit list using the given sequence of comparisons.
-The ``<`` prefix for an order makes undefined values sort first.
-The ``>`` prefix reverses the sort order for defined values.
+Properties
+----------
 
-Unit order examples::
+Items can be sorted by the following properties:
 
-    name age arrival squad squad_position profession
+- ``type``
+- ``description``
+- ``base_quality``
+- ``quality``
+- ``improvement``
+- ``wear``
+- ``material``
 
-The orderings are defined in ``hack/lua/plugins/sort/*.lua``
+Units can be sorted by the following properties:
 
-:dfhack-keybind:`sort-units`
+- ``name``
+- ``age``
+- ``arrival``
+- ``noble``
+- ``profession``
+- ``profession_class``
+- ``race``
+- ``squad``
+- ``squad_position``
+- ``happiness``
diff --git a/plugins/sort.cpp b/plugins/sort.cpp
index ab2829655..630ac9e53 100644
--- a/plugins/sort.cpp
+++ b/plugins/sort.cpp
@@ -56,25 +56,9 @@ static command_result sort_items(color_ostream &out, vector <string> & parameter
 DFhackCExport command_result plugin_init (color_ostream &out, std::vector <PluginCommand> &commands)
 {
     commands.push_back(PluginCommand(
-        "sort-units", "Sort the visible unit list.", sort_units, unit_list_hotkey,
-        "  sort-units order [order...]\n"
-        "    Sort the unit list using the given sequence of comparisons.\n"
-        "    The '<' prefix for an order makes undefined values sort first.\n"
-        "    The '>' prefix reverses the sort order for defined values.\n"
-        "  Unit order examples:\n"
-        "    name, age, arrival, squad, squad_position, profession\n"
-        "The orderings are defined in hack/lua/plugins/sort/*.lua\n"
-    ));
+        "sort-units", "Sort the visible unit list.", sort_units, unit_list_hotkey));
     commands.push_back(PluginCommand(
-        "sort-items", "Sort the visible item list.", sort_items, item_list_hotkey,
-        "  sort-items order [order...]\n"
-        "    Sort the item list using the given sequence of comparisons.\n"
-        "    The '<' prefix for an order makes undefined values sort first.\n"
-        "    The '>' prefix reverses the sort order for defined values.\n"
-        "  Item order examples:\n"
-        "    description, material, wear, type, quality\n"
-        "The orderings are defined in hack/lua/plugins/sort/*.lua\n"
-    ));
+        "sort-items", "Sort the visible item list.", sort_items, item_list_hotkey));
     return CR_OK;
 }