Pagination filtering and sorting

Do not return thousands of database records in one response. Pagination limits the amount of data processed and transferred.

Filtering and sorting should use validated, controlled values. Always enforce a maximum page size to protect the API.

Deep dive

Pagination strategies

Offset pagination is simple and useful for many administrative screens. Cursor-based pagination can be more stable for large, frequently changing datasets because it avoids some offset-scan and shifting-result problems.

Always cap limits

Never allow a client to request an unlimited number of rows. Apply a server-side maximum.