Offset Pagination
Offset pagination divides results into pages using limit and offset parameters, such as limit=20 and offset=40 to fetch the third page. It is simple and supports jumping to any page number, but becomes slow and inconsistent on large or frequently changing datasets.
Technical Architecture & Deep-Dive
Offset pagination maps directly to SQL `LIMIT` and `OFFSET`, which is why it is so common. However, the database must scan and discard all skipped rows, so page 10,000 is much slower than page 1.
If records are inserted while a user pages through results, items shift and may appear twice or be skipped. For feeds and large collections, cursor pagination is more reliable, while offset works well for small, stable admin tables.
Key Architectural Benefits
Implement Offset Pagination at the Edge
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q:Why is offset pagination slow on large tables?
The database must read through every skipped row before returning the requested page, so cost grows with the offset value.
Related Architecture Concepts
Cursor-based pagination retrieves large result sets in pages using an opaque cursor that marks the position of the last returned item. Each response includes a cursor for the next page, and clients pass it back to continue, avoiding skipped or duplicated items when data changes.
An API response envelope is a wrapper object around the actual data, typically containing fields like data, meta, errors, and pagination. Envelopes give every response a consistent outer structure, making it easier to handle errors and paging uniformly.
A REST API is a web interface that exposes data as resources identified by URLs and manipulated with standard HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE. Each request is stateless and responses are usually JSON, making REST the most common style for public and internal APIs.