Pagination

All list endpoints across AscendAPI products use cursor-based pagination. This page explains how it works, how to navigate through results, and how it compares to traditional offset-based pagination.

How It Works

Each list response returns a data array alongside a meta object that contains everything you need to navigate to the next or previous page.

{
  "success": true,
  "meta": {
    "total": 2289,
    "hasNextPage": true,
    "hasPreviousPage": false,
    "nextCursor": "edb_T5uXtLj",
    "previousCursor": null
  },
  "data": [...
  ]
}

Meta Fields

Field	Type	Description
`total`	`number`	Total number of exercises matching the current filters
`hasNextPage`	`boolean`	Whether more results exist after the current page
`hasPreviousPage`	`boolean`	Whether results exist before the current page
`nextCursor`	`string`	Exercise ID to pass as `after` for the next page
`previousCursor`	`string`	Exercise ID to pass as `before` for the previous page

Navigating Pages

First Request

No cursor is needed on the first request. Use the limit parameter to control how many results are returned per page.

curl -X GET "https://edb-with-gifs-and-images-by-ascendapi.p.rapidapi.com/api/v1/exercises?limit=10" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Host: edb-with-gifs-and-images-by-ascendapi.p.rapidapi.com"

Pass the nextCursor value from the previous response as the after parameter.

curl -X GET "https://edb-with-gifs-and-images-by-ascendapi.p.rapidapi.com/api/v1/exercises?limit=10&after=edb_T5uXtLj" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Host: edb-with-gifs-and-images-by-ascendapi.p.rapidapi.com"

Pass the previousCursor value as the before parameter to go back.

curl -X GET "https://edb-with-gifs-and-images-by-ascendapi.p.rapidapi.com/api/v1/exercises?limit=10&before=edb_mbpKFKd" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Host: edb-with-gifs-and-images-by-ascendapi.p.rapidapi.com"

With Filters

Pagination works alongside all available filters. Pass any combination of query parameters together with the cursor.

curl -X GET "https://edb-with-gifs-and-images-by-ascendapi.p.rapidapi.com/api/v1/exercises?limit=10&after=edb_T5uXtLj&bodyParts=Chest&equipments=Barbell,Dumbbell&difficulty=intermediate&exerciseTypes=strength" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Host: edb-with-gifs-and-images-by-ascendapi.p.rapidapi.com"

Stop paginating when hasNextPage is false. No results exist beyond that point.

Cursor vs Offset Pagination

AscendAPI uses cursor-based pagination instead of the traditional page/offset approach. The table below explains the key differences.

	Cursor-Based	Offset-Based
Mechanism	Uses an exercise ID as a stable pointer	Uses `page` and `limit` numbers to skip rows
Performance	Consistent at any depth	Degrades on large datasets due to row scanning
Stability	Results stay consistent as data changes	New inserts or deletes can shift page results mid-pagination
Random access	Sequential only	Can jump to any page number
Best suited for	Feeds, infinite scroll, large datasets	Small datasets, numbered page UIs

Offset pagination works by scanning and discarding rows before returning results. On large datasets, requesting a deep page means the database scans thousands of rows before serving your response. Cursor-based pagination skips this entirely by using a record ID as a direct reference point, making every page request equally fast regardless of dataset size.

Plan-Based Record Limits

On certain AscendAPI products, your plan determines how many records you can access in total, not just per page. This affects pagination directly as total in the meta object will reflect your plan limit rather than the full dataset size. For example, if your plan includes access to 1,000 records, pagination will stop at 1,000 results regardless of the full dataset size. To check the limits included in your plan, refer to the features listed on the product page.

Contact

For any queries reach out at hello@ascendapi.com.

Getting Started

Products

Guides

Troubleshooting

How It Works

Meta Fields

Navigating Pages

First Request

Next Page

Previous Page

With Filters

Plan-Based Record Limits

Contact

​How It Works

​Meta Fields

​Navigating Pages

​First Request

​Next Page

​Previous Page

​With Filters

​Cursor vs Offset Pagination

​Plan-Based Record Limits

​Contact

How It Works

Meta Fields

Navigating Pages

First Request

Next Page

Previous Page

With Filters

Cursor vs Offset Pagination

Plan-Based Record Limits

Contact