Cursor Pagination & Lazy Collections at Scale in Laravel | Mohamed Said [ ![Mohamed Said](https://cdn.msaied.com/01KT78WE565VEMM3PSNQAAB0MH.png) Mohamed Said Laravel Backend Engineer ](https://msaied.com) [ Home ](https://msaied.com) [ Projects ](https://msaied.com/projects) [ Articles ](https://msaied.com/articles) [ Certificates ](https://msaied.com/certificates) [ Contact ](https://msaied.com#contact-section) [ ](https://github.com/EG-Mohamed) [ Home ](https://msaied.com) [ Projects ](https://msaied.com/projects) [ Articles ](https://msaied.com/articles) [ Certificates ](https://msaied.com/certificates) [ Contact ](https://msaied.com#contact-section) [ home ](https://msaied.com) [ articles ](https://msaied.com/articles) Cursor Pagination, Chunked Iteration, and Lazy Collections at Scale in Laravel On this page 1. [ Why Offset Pagination Fails at Scale ](#why-offset-pagination-fails-at-scale) 2. [ Cursor Pagination for User-Facing APIs ](#cursor-pagination-for-user-facing-apis) 3. [ Multi-column ordering ](#multi-column-ordering) 4. [ What cursor pagination cannot do ](#what-cursor-pagination-cannot-do) 5. [ Chunked Iteration for Background Processing ](#chunked-iteration-for-background-processing) 6. [ Lazy Collections for Memory-Efficient Streaming ](#lazy-collections-for-memory-efficient-streaming) 7. [ Combining lazy collections with chunking ](#combining-lazy-collections-with-chunking) 8. [ Choosing the Right Tool ](#choosing-the-right-tool) 9. [ Key Takeaways ](#key-takeaways) ![Cursor Pagination, Chunked Iteration, and Lazy Collections at Scale in Laravel](https://cdn.msaied.com/415/eb2d62822119280148e092d25b36c6ae.png) #laravel #eloquent #performance #pagination #php Cursor Pagination, Chunked Iteration, and Lazy Collections at Scale in Laravel ================================================================================ 12 Jul 2026 4 min read ![Mohamed Said](https://cdn.msaied.com/01KT78WE565VEMM3PSNQAAB0MJ.jpg) Mohamed Said Table of contents 9 sections 1. [ 01 Why Offset Pagination Fails at Scale ](#why-offset-pagination-fails-at-scale) 2. [ 02 Cursor Pagination for User-Facing APIs ](#cursor-pagination-for-user-facing-apis) 3. [ 03 Multi-column ordering ](#multi-column-ordering) 4. [ 04 What cursor pagination cannot do ](#what-cursor-pagination-cannot-do) 5. [ 05 Chunked Iteration for Background Processing ](#chunked-iteration-for-background-processing) 6. [ 06 Lazy Collections for Memory-Efficient Streaming ](#lazy-collections-for-memory-efficient-streaming) 7. [ 07 Combining lazy collections with chunking ](#combining-lazy-collections-with-chunking) 8. [ 08 Choosing the Right Tool ](#choosing-the-right-tool) 9. [ 09 Key Takeaways ](#key-takeaways) Why Offset Pagination Fails at Scale ------------------------------------ Offset-based pagination (`LIMIT 100 OFFSET 50000`) forces the database to scan and discard 50,000 rows before returning your page. On a table with millions of rows and no covering index, this becomes a full or near-full index scan on every page load. The deeper the page, the slower the query — linearly. Laravel gives you three tools to escape this trap: **cursor pagination**, **chunked iteration**, and **lazy collections**. They solve different problems and are not interchangeable. --- Cursor Pagination for User-Facing APIs -------------------------------------- Cursor pagination encodes the last-seen row's ordered column value into an opaque token. The next query uses a `WHERE` clause instead of `OFFSET`: ```php // Route handler $orders = Order::orderBy('id')->cursorPaginate(50); return OrderResource::collection($orders); ``` The generated SQL looks like: ```sql SELECT * FROM orders WHERE id > 1482930 ORDER BY id ASC LIMIT 50; ``` With an index on `id` (always true for PKs), this is an O(log n) seek regardless of depth. The cursor itself is a base64-encoded JSON payload containing the column values — it is not a page number. ### Multi-column ordering Cursor pagination works with compound order keys, but every column in `orderBy` must be included in the cursor: ```php $orders = Order::orderBy('created_at')->orderBy('id')->cursorPaginate(50); ``` Laravel encodes both `created_at` and `id` into the cursor token and generates the correct `WHERE (created_at, id) > (?, ?)` inequality. Ensure a composite index exists: ```php $table->index(['created_at', 'id']); ``` ### What cursor pagination cannot do - No random page access (you cannot jump to page 47). - No total count (avoid `withCount` unless you genuinely need it). - Ordering must be deterministic — avoid nullable columns without a tiebreaker. --- Chunked Iteration for Background Processing ------------------------------------------- When you need to process every row in a table — exports, migrations, recalculations — `chunk()` and `chunkById()` are your tools. They are not for pagination; they are for batch processing. ```php // Dangerous: chunk() with mutations can skip rows Order::where('status', 'pending')->chunk(500, function ($orders) { foreach ($orders as $order) { $order->update(['status' => 'processing']); // shifts the result set } }); ``` Use `chunkById()` whenever you mutate rows inside the callback. It re-anchors each chunk using the last seen primary key: ```php Order::where('status', 'pending') ->chunkById(500, function ($orders) { foreach ($orders as $order) { ProcessOrder::dispatch($order); } }); ``` The underlying SQL uses `WHERE id > ? ORDER BY id LIMIT 500` — the same cursor-style seek as cursor pagination, but driven internally. --- Lazy Collections for Memory-Efficient Streaming ----------------------------------------------- `LazyCollection` wraps a PHP generator. Eloquent's `cursor()` method streams rows one at a time from the database, keeping only the current model in memory: ```php Order::where('status', 'pending') ->cursor() ->each(function (Order $order) { ProcessOrder::dispatch($order); }); ``` This uses a single unbuffered query. Memory stays flat regardless of result set size. The trade-off: the database connection is held open for the entire iteration. For long-running processes or large tables, this can exhaust connection pool slots. ### Combining lazy collections with chunking ```php Order::cursor() ->chunk(200) ->each(function ($chunk) { Order::whereIn('id', $chunk->pluck('id')) ->update(['processed_at' => now()]); }); ``` This streams rows lazily but batches the writes — a useful hybrid when you need both low memory and efficient bulk updates. --- Choosing the Right Tool ----------------------- | Scenario | Tool | |---|---| | User-facing paginated API | `cursorPaginate()` | | Background batch processing | `chunkById()` | | Memory-constrained streaming | `cursor()` + `LazyCollection` | | Bulk mutations on large tables | `chunkById()` | | Piping results through a pipeline | `cursor()` | --- Key Takeaways ------------- - Offset pagination degrades linearly; replace it with `cursorPaginate()` for any user-facing list. - Always prefer `chunkById()` over `chunk()` when mutating rows inside the callback. - `cursor()` streams one model at a time via a generator — ideal for memory-sensitive pipelines but holds the DB connection open. - Compound order keys in cursor pagination require matching composite indexes. - Lazy collections compose with standard Collection methods, making them easy to integrate into existing pipelines. Found this useful? [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmsaied.com%2Farticles%2Fcursor-pagination-chunked-iteration-and-lazy-collections-at-scale-in-laravel-2&text=Cursor+Pagination%2C+Chunked+Iteration%2C+and+Lazy+Collections+at+Scale+in+Laravel) [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmsaied.com%2Farticles%2Fcursor-pagination-chunked-iteration-and-lazy-collections-at-scale-in-laravel-2) Frequently Asked Questions ---------------------------- 3 questions Q01 Can I use cursor pagination with a non-primary-key sort column? Yes. Add the column to `orderBy()` and ensure a composite index that includes both the sort column and the primary key as a tiebreaker. Without the tiebreaker, duplicate values in the sort column will cause rows to be skipped or repeated. Q02 When should I use `cursor()` instead of `chunkById()`? `cursor()` is best when you need to pipe results through a lazy pipeline or keep memory flat without caring about connection duration. `chunkById()` is better for long-running batch jobs where you want to release the connection between chunks and avoid holding it open for minutes. Q03 Does `cursorPaginate()` support total row counts? No. Cursor pagination intentionally omits the COUNT query for performance. If you need a total, run a separate `count()` query and cache it — but reconsider whether a total is truly necessary for your UI. Continue reading More Articles --------------- [ View all ](https://msaied.com/articles) [ ![Laravel Broadcasting with Reverb: Private Channels, Presence, and Auth Guards](https://cdn.msaied.com/416/26c2793902d9db428140205417b2dfb4.png) laravel reverb broadcasting ### Laravel Broadcasting with Reverb: Private Channels, Presence, and Auth Guards Go beyond the basics of Laravel Reverb. 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