How to Use first() and last() in Django QuerySets

In Django, you can use first() and last() methods on QuerySets to retrieve the first or last record respectively. These methods return a single model instance or None if no records exist.

Syntax

The first() and last() methods are called on a Django QuerySet to get the first or last object in the result set.

• queryset.first(): Returns the first object or None if empty.
• queryset.last(): Returns the last object or None if empty.

python

first_object = MyModel.objects.filter(active=True).order_by('created_at').first()
last_object = MyModel.objects.filter(active=True).order_by('created_at').last()

Example

This example shows how to get the first and last user ordered by their signup date.

python

from django.contrib.auth.models import User

# Get the first user by date joined
first_user = User.objects.order_by('date_joined').first()

# Get the last user by date joined
last_user = User.objects.order_by('date_joined').last()

print(f"First user: {first_user.username if first_user else 'None'}")
print(f"Last user: {last_user.username if last_user else 'None'}")

Output

First user: alice
Last user: zoe

Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes include:

• Not ordering the QuerySet before calling first() or last(), which can lead to unpredictable results.
• Assuming these methods raise exceptions if no records exist; they return None instead.
• Using first() or last() on unsorted QuerySets when order matters.

python

wrong = MyModel.objects.first()  # No order, unpredictable first record

right = MyModel.objects.order_by('id').first()  # Ordered, predictable first record

Quick Reference

Method	Description	Returns if empty
first()	Returns first object in QuerySet	None
last()	Returns last object in QuerySet	None

Key Takeaways

Always use order_by() before first() or last() to get predictable results.

first() and last() return a single object or None if no records exist.

They do not raise exceptions on empty QuerySets.

Use these methods to quickly access boundary records without slicing.

They work on any QuerySet, including filtered and ordered ones.