Pagination

The Udacity Public API uses cursor-based pagination (Relay-style) for all list queries. This provides stable, efficient pagination even on large datasets.

Cursor-based pagination uses opaque cursor strings instead of page numbers, ensuring stable results even when data changes between requests.

How It Works

Every paginated query returns a connection with three key parts: totalCount, pageInfo, and edges.

Each edge contains a cursor (an opaque string identifying that item’s position) and a node (the actual data).

Connection Structure

{
  totalCount    # Total number of results
  pageInfo {
    hasNextPage   # Are there more results?
    endCursor     # Cursor to pass as "after" for the next page
  }
  edges {
    cursor        # This item's cursor
    node {
      ...         # The actual data
    }
  }
}

Basic Pagination

First page

Request the first N items using first. The response includes pageInfo telling you whether more results exist.

First Page Query

query FirstPage($input: ProgramProgressInput!) {
  programProgress(input: $input) {
    totalCount
    pageInfo {
      hasNextPage
      endCursor
    }
    edges {
      node {
        userId
        userEmail
      }
    }
  }
}

Use the endCursor from the previous response as the after argument to fetch the next page.

Next Page Query

query NextPage($input: ProgramProgressInput!) {
  programProgress(input: $input) {
    pageInfo {
      hasNextPage
      endCursor
    }
    edges {
      node {
        userId
        userEmail
      }
    }
  }
}

Variables

{
  "input": {
    "first": 50,
    "after": "eyJpZCI6IjUwIn0="
  }
}

Paginating Through All Results

Loop until hasNextPage is false, passing the endCursor from each response as after in the next request.

JavaScript

async function fetchAllProgress(apiKey) {
  let allRecords = [];
  let cursor = null;
  let hasNextPage = true;

  while (hasNextPage) {
    const response = await fetch('https://api.udacity.com/api/public/api/v1/program-progress/graphql', {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: {
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        'Authorization': `Token ${apiKey}`,
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({
        query: `
          query GetProgramProgress($input: ProgramProgressInput!) {
            programProgress(input: $input) {
              pageInfo { hasNextPage endCursor }
              edges { node { userId userEmail userFirstName userLastName } }
            }
          }
        `,
        variables: { input: { first: 100, after: cursor } },
      }),
    });

    const { data } = await response.json();
    const { edges, pageInfo } = data.programProgress;

    allRecords.push(...edges.map(e => e.node));
    hasNextPage = pageInfo.hasNextPage;
    cursor = pageInfo.endCursor;
  }

  return allRecords;
}

Page Size Limits

programProgressmax first: 10,000

Maximum page size for program progress queries

assessmentProgressmax first: 10,000

Maximum page size for assessment progress queries

learningPlanProgressmax first: 10,000

Maximum page size for learning plan progress queries

Tip: For best performance, use page sizes of 100–500. Larger pages take longer to process and may time out on complex queries.

Tips

Always check hasNextPage before requesting the next page
Don’t store cursors long-term — they may become invalid if the underlying data changes
Use totalCount to show progress indicators or estimate pagination depth
Combine pagination with filters to reduce the total dataset before paginating

Tip: Combine pagination with orderBy and filter to efficiently retrieve exactly the data you need. See Filtering & Sorting for details.