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Documentation
/ SQL
/ Query Syntax
LIMIT and OFFSET Clauses
LIMIT
is an output modifier. Logically it is applied at the very end of the query. The LIMIT
clause restricts the amount of rows fetched. The OFFSET
clause indicates at which position to start reading the values, i.e., the first OFFSET
values are ignored.
Note that while LIMIT
can be used without an ORDER BY
clause, the results might not be deterministic without the ORDER BY
clause. This can still be useful, however, for example when you want to inspect a quick snapshot of the data.
Examples
Select the first 5 rows from the addresses table:
SELECT *
FROM addresses
LIMIT 5;
Select the 5 rows from the addresses table, starting at position 5 (i.e., ignoring the first 5 rows):
SELECT *
FROM addresses
LIMIT 5
OFFSET 5;
Select the top 5 cities with the highest population:
SELECT city, count(*) AS population
FROM addresses
GROUP BY city
ORDER BY population DESC
LIMIT 5;