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Pagination and Search

Paginate the feed and search post text.

Goal

This snapshot advances Rivermouth Dispatch by teaching you to paginate the feed and search post text.

Every numbered folder is a complete app. Run this stage independently, then compare it with the previous folder.

Prerequisites

Use Python 3.11+, a terminal, and Docker for Postgres stages. You should recognize functions, modules, and HTTP verbs.

Port 8001 must be free. Copy .env.example before starting database stages.

  • Python 3 and pip/venv
  • A code editor and terminal
  • Docker from part 4 onward

Concepts

Pagination bounds work per page. Search filters with ILIKE (or equivalent) before counting and slicing.

Keep request handling thin: routes accept input, services/models enforce rules, and Jinja templates escape output by default.

Walkthrough

Use page size 5, compute total pages, and accept a q query parameter.

Read the example, then open the matching snapshot. The repository includes the surrounding setup and error handling.

page_size = 5
pages = max(1, (total + page_size - 1) // page_size)

Run and verify

Enter 10-Pagination-And-Search, create a virtualenv, install requirements, copy .env.example when present, and start Uvicorn on port 8001.

Open http://127.0.0.1:8001. Watch the terminal for validation and database errors.

docker compose up -d
git clone https://github.com/michaeldunga1/fcc-fastapi-blog.git
cd fcc-fastapi-blog/10-Pagination-And-Search
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
cp .env.example .env
uvicorn main:app --reload --port 8001

Troubleshooting

Off-by-one errors often come from mixing 0-based offsets with 1-based page numbers.

Import errors usually mean the virtualenv is inactive or you installed packages in another snapshot. For Postgres failures, confirm Docker and the rivermouth_NN database name.

  • Read the first error first
  • Restart after environment changes
  • Never commit .env or .venv

Try this

Search for ownership and confirm matching cards.

Test a happy path and one invalid or unauthorized request.

  • Make one small change
  • Test it in the browser
  • Compare with the next snapshot only after it works

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