MongoDB Limit

MongoDB Limit: Paginating Queries with .skip() and .limit()

Paginating large document collections in MongoDB using Node.js is implemented by chaining .skip() and .limit() methods onto query cursors.

Skip & Limit Pagination Concept

flowchart LR
    A["Client Requests Page 2 (pageSize = 5)"]
    --> B["Calculate Skip = (2 - 1) * 5 = 5"]
    --> C["cursor.find({}).skip(5).limit(5)"]
    --> D["Skips first 5 docs & returns next 5 docs"]

Practical Code Example

import { MongoClient } from 'mongodb';

const uri = 'mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017';
const client = new MongoClient(uri);

async function getPaginatedProducts(page = 1, pageSize = 5) {
    try {
        await client.connect();
        const db = client.db('kodersolution_no_sql');
        const products = db.collection('products');

        const skipAmount = (page - 1) * pageSize;

        // Fetch paginated cursor
        const paginatedDocs = await products
            .find({})
            .sort({ _id: 1 })
            .skip(skipAmount)
            .limit(pageSize)
            .toArray();

        const totalDocuments = await products.countDocuments();
        const totalPages = Math.ceil(totalDocuments / pageSize);

        console.log(`--- Page ${page} of ${totalPages} (Total: ${totalDocuments} Docs) ---`);
        console.log(paginatedDocs);
    } catch (err) {
        console.error('MongoDB Limit Error:', err.message);
    } finally {
        await client.close();
    }
}

getPaginatedProducts(2, 5);

Best Practices & Gotchas

• Always Include .sort(): Always chain .sort() before .skip() and .limit() to ensure predictable pagination order across requests.
• Avoid High .skip() Offsets: High .skip() offsets (e.g. .skip(50000)) degrade performance because MongoDB scans and discards skipped documents; use Range/Bucket queries (_id: { $gt: lastId }) for deep pagination.
• Use countDocuments(): Use collection.countDocuments(filter) to get accurate total counts for pagination metadata.

Self-Check Challenge

Calculate the .skip() value required for requesting Page 5 when displaying 20 items per page.