Keyset Pagination in PostgreSQL: Why OFFSET Doesn't Scale (and How to Fix It)

Learn why LIMIT/OFFSET pagination falls apart on large tables and how to replace it with keyset (cursor) pagination: tuple comparison, the right composite index, opaque cursors for your API, common pitfalls, and when to use each approach. Includes production-ready code in SQL and Python.

11 minutes read

Josué Puig

2026-06-28

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