Common Pagination Mistakes

Mistake 1: Using non-unique cursor

Problem:

cursor: cursor ? { createdAt: cursor } : undefined,

Multiple records can have the same createdAt value, causing skipped or duplicate records.

Fix: Use composite cursor with unique field:

cursor: cursor ? { createdAt_id: cursor } : undefined,
orderBy: [{ createdAt: 'desc' }, { id: 'asc' }],

Problem:

findMany({
  cursor: { id: cursor },
  take: 20,
})

The cursor record itself is included in results, causing duplicate on next page.

Fix: Skip cursor record itself:

findMany({
  cursor: { id: cursor },
  skip: 1,
  take: 20,
})

Problem:

findMany({
  skip: page * 1000,
  take: 1000,
})

Performance degrades linearly with page number on large datasets.

Fix: Use cursor pagination:

findMany({
  cursor: cursor ? { id: cursor } : undefined,
  skip: cursor ? 1 : 0,
  take: 1000,
})

Problem: Schema without index causes full table scans:

model Post {
  id        String   @id
  createdAt DateTime @default(now())
}

Fix: Add appropriate index:

model Post {
  id        String   @id
  createdAt DateTime @default(now())

  @@index([createdAt, id])
}