API for search filter pagination export

Here’s a practical way to design an API that supports search, filtering, pagination, and export.

1) Common endpoint pattern

Use a single listing endpoint with query parameters:

GET /items?search=phone&status=active&category=electronics&page=1&limit=20&sort=createdAt:desc

Example query params

• search — free-text search
• status — exact filter
• category — exact filter
• fromDate, toDate — date range
• page — page number
• limit — items per page
• sort — sorting field and direction

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2) Response for pagination

Return both data and pagination metadata:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "iPhone 15",
      "status": "active"
    }
  ],
  "pagination": {
    "page": 1,
    "limit": 20,
    "total": 134,
    "totalPages": 7
  }
}

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3) Search + filter behavior

Example:

GET /users?search=john&role=admin&isActive=true&page=2&limit=10

Rules:

• search applies to name/email/phone, etc.
• Filters apply as exact matches or ranges
• Combine them with AND logic by default

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4) Export support

For export, you usually have 2 options:

Option A: Same endpoint with export=true

GET /items?search=phone&status=active&export=true

Response:

• CSV/Excel file directly
• Usually ignores pagination and exports all matching records

Option B: Separate export endpoint

GET /items/export?search=phone&status=active&format=csv

This is cleaner for:

• CSV
• Excel
• PDF
• large files

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5) Recommended export response

CSV

Content-Type: text/csv
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="items.csv"

Excel

Content-Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="items.xlsx"

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6) Example API design

List API

GET /api/products?search=apple&status=active&category=phones&page=1&limit=25&sort=name:asc

Export API

GET /api/products/export?search=apple&status=active&category=phones&format=csv

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7) Best practices

• Validate all query params
• Default page=1, limit=10 or 20
• Cap maximum limit to prevent abuse
• Return consistent pagination metadata
• Use cursor pagination if dataset is very large
• For export, use background jobs for large files

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8) Sample full contract

Request

GET /api/orders?search=abc&status=paid&fromDate=2026-01-01&toDate=2026-01-31&page=1&limit=50&sort=createdAt:desc

Response

{
  "data": [],
  "pagination": {
    "page": 1,
    "limit": 50,
    "total": 0,
    "totalPages": 0
  }
}

If you want, I can also give you:

1. OpenAPI/Swagger spec
2. Node.js/Express implementation
3. Spring Boot implementation
4. SQL query design for search/filter/pagination/export