invalid_cursor 🔌 API

API Error: Invalid pagination cursor (invalid_cursor / cursor expired)

The page token or cursor you passed is malformed, expired, or was generated for a different query.

Seen on: REST API

Meaning

Cursor pagination returns an opaque token (next_cursor, starting_after, pageToken) that encodes where the next page starts. The server rejects it if it was edited, URL-encoded wrongly, older than its retention window, or reused with different filters or sort order.

Slack returns invalid_cursor, Google APIs “Invalid page token”, others “cursor is invalid or expired”.

Common causes

  • Filters, sort or page size changed between pages
  • Cursor too old (expired)
  • Cursor decoded/modified or double URL-encoded
  • Cursor from one endpoint used on another

⚡ Quick fix

  1. Restart the listing without a cursor
  2. Keep every other parameter identical while paging
  3. Pass the cursor exactly as received, URL-encoding it once

Detailed fix by platform

Node.js

  1. javascript
    let cursor;
do {
  const res = await api.list({ limit: 100, status: 'active', cursor });  // same filters every call
  handle(res.data);
  cursor = res.next_cursor;
} while (cursor);

How to diagnose

  1. Params — Same filters/sort as the first page?
  2. Age — How long since the cursor was issued?
  3. Encoding — Compare the cursor sent with the one received

🧠 Still stuck? Analyze your error

Paste the full message, response headers or stack trace — we'll detect the platform and point to the most likely cause.