REST API Pagination: Offset vs Cursor vs Keyset Pagination with SQL Examples
Learn how to paginate large datasets in REST APIs. Compare OFFSET/LIMIT with high-performance cursor-based and keyset pagination in SQL.
Returning 100,000 records in a single api example call will crash both backend memory and client browsers. Pagination splits large databases into navigable chunks. While OFFSET 1000 is common, it degrades to O(N) database scans on big tables. Cursor pagination uses index seeks to achieve O(1) performance.
Cursor-Based API URL Example
GET /api/v1/posts?limit=20&after_cursor=eyJpZCI6OTQ4MTIsInRpbWUiOjE3Mjg...