# LIMIT

The `LIMIT` clause is used to limit the number of records returned by a query.

The `LIMIT` clause is used to limit the number of records returned by a query. It is particularly useful when you want to retrieve a specific number of records from a table.

## Syntax

```syntax title="Clause Syntax"
LIMIT @number
```

## Examples

```surql
-- Select the first 10 records
SELECT * FROM person LIMIT 10;

-- Start at record 50 and select the following 10 records
SELECT * FROM person LIMIT 10 START 50;
```

```surql
-- Select the first 5 records from the array
SELECT * FROM [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10] LIMIT 5 START 4;
```

```surql title="Result"
[
	5,
	6,
	7,
	8,
	9
]
```

The `LIMIT` clause followed by `1` is often used along with the `ONLY` clause to satisfy the requirement that only up to a single record can be returned.

```surql
-- Record IDs are unique so guaranteed to be no more than 1
SELECT * FROM ONLY person:jamie;

-- Error because no guarantee that this will return a single record
SELECT * FROM ONLY person WHERE name = "Jaime";

-- Add `LIMIT 1` to ensure that only up to one record will be returned
SELECT * FROM ONLY person WHERE name = "Jaime" LIMIT 1;
```

## Use in pagination

When using the `LIMIT` clause, it is possible to paginate results by using the `START` clause to start from a specific record from the result set. It is important to note that the `START` count starts from 0.

This pattern is most often used through SDKs to avoid sending messages that exceed a certain size to other pieces of software, and so on.

The following pseudocode demonstrates the most common pattern seen when `START` and `LIMIT` are used together.

```rust
let current = 0;
loop {
    let query = db.query(SELECT * FROM person START {current} LIMIT 100);
    if query.is_empty() {
        break;
    } else {
        query.send_to_app();
        current += 100;
    }
}
```