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Pagination, Infinite Scroll, and Prefetching

Pagination and infinite scroll are fundamental patterns for loading and displaying large datasets efficiently in React applications. React Query's useInfiniteQuery hook makes it trivial to implement bidirectional infinite scroll, cursor-based pagination, and prefetching strategies that make your lists feel instant.

In this series, you'll learn the full spectrum: from foundational offset-based pagination through advanced cursor patterns, the Intersection Observer API for detecting visibility changes, and optimization techniques using virtual lists and placeholder data. By the end, you'll be able to build production-grade paginated interfaces that handle millions of items without performance degradation.

This series assumes you understand React hooks and React Query basics (or Tanstack Query, which provides the same APIs). We focus on real-world implementations optimized for 2026's performance standards.

Articles in this series​