Files & Datasqlpaginationkeysetseekperformance
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SQLSQLrunnable
-- page 1
SELECT id, created_at, title
FROM posts
ORDER BY created_at DESC, id DESC
LIMIT 20;
-- next page: feed the LAST row's keys back in
SELECT id, created_at, title
FROM posts
WHERE (created_at, id) < ('2026-08-24 18:02:00+00', 9014)
ORDER BY created_at DESC, id DESC
LIMIT 20;The tuple comparison (created_at, id) < (last_seen_at, last_seen_id) is lexicographic — exactly the ORDER BY in reverse. Needs the composite index CREATE INDEX ON posts (created_at DESC, id DESC) to stay an index scan at depth. Run both queries in the playground.