What are different pagination techniques?

What You'll Learn

Offset pagination
Cursor pagination
When to use each

1. Offset Pagination

code.jsJavaScript

GET /users?page=2&limit=20
// or
GET /users?offset=20&limit=20

// Response
{
  "data": [...],
  "meta": {
    "page": 2,
    "limit": 20,
    "total": 150,
    "totalPages": 8
  }
}

Pros: Simple, allows jumping to any page Cons: Inconsistent with real-time data, slow for large offsets

2. Cursor Pagination

code.jsJavaScript

GET /users?cursor=abc123&limit=20

// Response
{
  "data": [...],
  "meta": {
    "nextCursor": "xyz789",
    "prevCursor": "abc122",
    "hasMore": true
  }
}

Pros: Consistent results, fast for any position Cons: Can't jump to specific page

Implementation

code.jsJavaScript

// Offset pagination
app.get('/users', async (req, res) => {
  const page = parseInt(req.query.page) || 1;
  const limit = parseInt(req.query.limit) || 20;
  const offset = (page - 1) * limit;

  const users = await User.find().skip(offset).limit(limit);
  const total = await User.countDocuments();

  res.json({ data: users, meta: { page, limit, total } });
});

// Cursor pagination
app.get('/users', async (req, res) => {
  const { cursor, limit = 20 } = req.query;
  const query = cursor ? { _id: { $gt: cursor } } : {};

  const users = await User.find(query).limit(limit + 1);
  const hasMore = users.length > limit;

  res.json({
    data: users.slice(0, limit),
    meta: { nextCursor: users[limit - 1]?._id, hasMore }
  });
});