> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.blinksale.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Pagination

> How to work with paginated responses in the Blinksale API

# Pagination

Many endpoints in the Blinksale API return collections of resources, such as lists of clients, invoices, or estimates. To make these responses more manageable, the API uses pagination to split the results into smaller chunks.

## How Pagination Works

For endpoints that support pagination, the following parameters can be used:

| Parameter  | Description                        | Default |
| ---------- | ---------------------------------- | ------- |
| `per_page` | Number of items to return per page | 15      |
| `page`     | Page number to retrieve            | 1       |

## Requesting Paginated Data

To request paginated data, simply include the pagination parameters in your query string:

```
GET /api/v1/clients?per_page=10&page=2
```

This request would retrieve the second page of clients, with 10 clients per page.

## Pagination Response Structure

Paginated responses include metadata about the pagination state alongside the requested data. Here's an example response structure:

```json theme={null}
{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Clients retrieved successfully",
  "data": [
    // Array of resource objects
  ],
  "links": {
    "first": "https://app.blinksale.com/api/v1/clients?page=1",
    "last": "https://app.blinksale.com/api/v1/clients?page=5",
    "prev": null,
    "next": "https://app.blinksale.com/api/v1/clients?page=2"
  },
  "meta": {
    "current_page": 1,
    "from": 1,
    "last_page": 5,
    "path": "https://app.blinksale.com/api/v1/clients",
    "per_page": 15,
    "to": 15,
    "total": 67
  }
}
```

## Pagination Metadata

The pagination metadata includes:

| Field          | Description                                     |
| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| `current_page` | The current page number                         |
| `from`         | The index of the first item on the current page |
| `last_page`    | The total number of pages                       |
| `path`         | The base URL for the paginated resource         |
| `per_page`     | The number of items per page                    |
| `to`           | The index of the last item on the current page  |
| `total`        | The total number of items across all pages      |

## Navigation Links

The response also includes helpful navigation links:

| Link    | Description                                      |
| ------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| `first` | URL to the first page                            |
| `last`  | URL to the last page                             |
| `prev`  | URL to the previous page (null if on first page) |
| `next`  | URL to the next page (null if on last page)      |

## Handling Pagination in Your Application

When working with paginated resources, your application should:

1. Make the initial request to the API endpoint
2. Process the current page of results
3. Check if there are more pages by looking at the `next` link
4. If there are more pages and you need them, follow the `next` link to retrieve the next page

This approach allows you to efficiently navigate through large collections of data without overwhelming your application or the API server.