Pagination (from/size) in Elasticsearch - Step-by-Step Execution

Concept Flow - Pagination (from/size)

Start Query

↓

Set 'from' Offset

↓

Set 'size' Limit

↓

Execute Search

↓

Return Results Slice

↓

End

The query sets a starting point ('from') and number of results ('size'), then returns that slice of search results.

Execution Sample

Elasticsearch

{
  "from": 10,
  "size": 5,
  "query": { "match_all": {} }
}

This query skips the first 10 results and returns the next 5 results from the search.

Execution Table

Step	Action	Value of 'from'	Value of 'size'	Results Returned
1	Start query execution	0 (default)	10 (default)	First 10 results
2	Set 'from' to 10	10	10 (default)	Skip first 10 results
3	Set 'size' to 5	10	5	Return 5 results starting at 11th
4	Execute search	10	5	Results 11 to 15 returned
5	End	10	5	Pagination complete

💡 'from' + 'size' defines the slice; after returning 5 results starting at offset 10, execution stops.

Variable Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 2	After Step 3	Final
from	0 (default)	10	10	10
size	10 (default)	10	5	5

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why does changing 'from' affect which results are returned?

Because 'from' tells Elasticsearch how many results to skip before starting to return results, as shown in execution_table row 2 and 4.

What happens if 'size' is smaller than the total results after 'from'?

'size' limits how many results are returned after skipping 'from' results, so only that many results are returned, as seen in row 3 and 4.

Is the default 'from' always zero if not specified?

Yes, if 'from' is not set, it defaults to zero, meaning results start from the first one, as shown in row 1.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution_table, what is the value of 'from' at Step 3?

A 0

B 10

C 5

D 15

💡 Hint

Check the 'Value of from' column at Step 3 in the execution_table.

At which step does the query start returning results from the 11th record?

A Step 1

B Step 2

C Step 4

D Step 5

💡 Hint

Look at the 'Results Returned' column to see when results 11 to 15 are returned.

If 'size' was changed to 3 at Step 3, how would the 'Results Returned' at Step 4 change?

A Results 11 to 13 returned

B Results 10 to 12 returned

C Results 11 to 15 returned

D Results 1 to 3 returned

💡 Hint

Refer to variable_tracker for 'size' and execution_table Step 4 for results range.

Concept Snapshot

Pagination in Elasticsearch uses 'from' and 'size'.
'from' skips that many results.
'size' limits how many results to return.
Defaults: from=0, size=10.
Together they slice the result set for paging.

Full Transcript

This visual execution shows how Elasticsearch pagination works using 'from' and 'size'. The query starts with default values, then 'from' is set to 10 to skip the first 10 results. Next, 'size' is set to 5 to limit the output to 5 results. The search executes and returns results 11 to 15. Variables 'from' and 'size' track these values step-by-step. Key moments clarify why 'from' skips results and 'size' limits them. The quiz tests understanding of these steps and their effects on returned results.