How can a client follow pagination links in an API response?

Start with that API’s pagination documentation, then inspect the response in the location it describes. One HTTP option is a Link response header containing related links; for pagination, a link may be marked with rel="next". A JSON response may use a field such as nextLink. These are examples, not universal rules: the format depends on the API. [S1] [S2]

For example, a hypothetical response might include:

Link: <[next-page-link]>; rel="next"

[next-page-link] is a placeholder for the value actually returned by the API. Use the documented link format rather than assuming that adding page=2 or another parameter will work.

Follow the returned link according to the API’s documented instructions instead of rebuilding it from guessed parameters. The continuation format is specific to the API. For example, Microsoft Data API builder documents a product-specific pattern in which a paginated JSON response can contain nextLink and the continuation request uses the returned $after token. That example does not establish a rule for other APIs. [S2]

A practical sequence is:

1. Locate the documented next-link field or header in the response.
2. If a link is provided, use it as directed by the API documentation.
3. Read the new response and check for its next link in the same documented way.

Don’t substitute a guessed token or parameter for the returned value.

Check the API’s documentation to learn what the absence of a link means and how the response is structured. If the documentation says that no next link means there are no further pages, stop. If it doesn’t explain the response, don’t infer the reason or generate another request from an assumed page number; clarify the documented pagination behavior first.

You can express the basic control flow as pseudocode:

response = first_response
process(response)
link = documented_next_link(response)

while link is present:
    response = request(link)
    process(response)
    link = documented_next_link(response)

This is illustrative, not ready-to-run code: the link lookup and request handling depend on the API and your client.

Suppose the API documentation says to find the next page in a Link header relation named next. If a response contains Link: <[next-page-link]>; rel="next", the client reads that documented relation and requests the returned link. It then checks the new response for the same relation. If the documentation defines what to do when the relation is absent, follow that instruction. If the API instead documents a JSON nextLink field, use that field and its documented rules rather than looking for the header.

The HTTP Link header can carry links to related resources, including pagination links, but that does not establish which format a particular API uses. Likewise, Microsoft Data API builder’s nextLink and $after example describes that product’s scheme, not a universal convention. [S1] [S2]