# REST API: Sort & Pagination

Entries that are returned by queries to the REST API can be sorted and paginated.

💡 TIP

Strapi takes advantage of the ability of the qs (opens new window) library to parse nested objects to create more complex queries. Use qs directly to generate complex queries instead of creating them manually. Examples in this documentation showcase how you can use qs.

# Sorting

Queries can accept a sort parameter that allows sorting on one or multiple fields with the following syntaxes:

  • GET /api/:pluralApiId?sort=value to sort on 1 field
  • GET /api/:pluralApiId?sort[0]=value1&sort[1]=value2 to sort on multiple fields (e.g. on 2 fields)

The sorting order can be defined with:

  • :asc for ascending order (default order, can be omitted)
  • or :desc for descending order.

Example request: Sort using 2 fields

GET /api/articles?sort[0]=title&sort[1]=slug

Example response

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "attributes": {
        "title": "Test Article",
        "slug": "test-article",
        // ...
      }
    },
    {
      "id": 2,
      "attributes": {
        "title": "Test Article",
        "slug": "test-article-1",
        // ...
      }
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    // ...
  }
}
JavaScript query (built with the qs library):

qs (opens new window) can be used to build the query URL used in the example above:

const qs = require('qs');
const query = qs.stringify({
  sort: ['title', 'slug'],
}, {
  encodeValuesOnly: true, // prettify URL
});

await request(`/api/articles?${query}`);

Example request: Sort using 2 fields and set the order

GET /api/articles?sort[0]=title%3Aasc&sort[1]=slug%3Adesc

Example response

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": 2,
      "attributes": {
        "title": "Test Article",
        "slug": "test-article-1",
        // ...
      }
    },
    {
      "id": 1,
      "attributes": {
        "title": "Test Article",
        "slug": "test-article",
        // ...
      }
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    // ...
  }
}
JavaScript query (built with the qs library):

qs (opens new window) can be used to build the query URL used in the example above:

const qs = require('qs');
const query = qs.stringify({
  sort: ['title:asc', 'slug:desc'],
}, {
  encodeValuesOnly: true, // prettify URL
});

await request(`/api/articles?${query}`);

# Pagination

Queries can accept pagination parameters. Results can be paginated:

  • either by page (i.e. specifying a page number and the number of entries per page)
  • or by offset (i.e. specifying how many entries to skip and to return)

✏️ NOTE

Pagination methods can not be mixed. Always use either page with pageSize or start with limit.

# Pagination by page

To paginate results by page, use the following parameters:

Parameter Type Description Default
pagination[page] Integer Page number 1
pagination[pageSize] Integer Page size 25
pagination[withCount] Boolean Adds the total numbers of entries and the number of pages to the response True

Example request: Return only 10 entries on page 1

GET /api/articles?pagination[page]=1&pagination[pageSize]=10

Example response

{
  "data": [
    // ...
  ],
  "meta": {
    "pagination": {
      "page": 1,
      "pageSize": 10,
      "pageCount": 5,
      "total": 48
    }
  }
}
JavaScript query (built with the qs library):

qs (opens new window) can be used to build the query URL used in the example above:

const qs = require('qs');
const query = qs.stringify({
  pagination: {
    page: 1,
    pageSize: 10,
  },
}, {
  encodeValuesOnly: true, // prettify URL
});

await request(`/api/articles?${query}`);

# Pagination by offset

To paginate results by offset, use the following parameters:

Parameter Type Description Default
pagination[start] Integer Start value (i.e. first entry to return) 0
pagination[limit] Integer Number of entries to return 25
pagination[withCount] Boolean Toggles displaying the total number of entries to the response true

💡 TIP

The default and maximum values for pagination[limit] can be configured in the ./config/api.js file with the api.rest.defaultLimit and api.rest.maxLimit keys.

Example request: Return only the first 10 entries using offset

GET /api/articles?pagination[start]=0&pagination[limit]=10

Example response

{
  "data": [
    // ...
  ],
  "meta": {
    "pagination": {
      "start": 0,
      "limit": 10,
      "total": 42
    }
  }
}
JavaScript query (built with the qs library):

qs (opens new window) can be used to build the query URL used in the example above:

const qs = require('qs');
const query = qs.stringify({
  pagination: {
    start: 0,
    limit: 10,
  },
}, {
  encodeValuesOnly: true, // prettify URL
});

await request(`/api/articles?${query}`);

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