Trello API list pagination limit change in v1.0: Managing large boards

Context

The Trello REST API exposes the /boards/{id}/lists endpoint for retrieving lists belonging to a board. In v1.0 the documented maximum limit value is 1,000, yet many organizations experience boards with far more lists or cards. The API uses cursor‑based pagination via start and before parameters, but the official guidance on how to combine these with large limit values remains ambiguous.

Goal

Determine a reliable strategy to retrieve all lists from a board that exceeds the 1,000‑list threshold while respecting rate limits and avoiding timeouts.

Constraints

• Rate limit: 300 requests per 10 seconds.
• Maximum per‑request limit is 1,000 but practical pagination often uses smaller page sizes.
• Client must maintain pagination state across requests to ensure no duplicates or missing lists.

Unresolved Questions

• When a board contains more than 1,000 lists, should the client issue multiple requests with limit=1000 and successive start cursors, or is a smaller limit (e.g., 200) recommended to reduce the risk of timeouts?
• Is there an official best‑practice for handling the before cursor in the context of list pagination, especially when lists are frequently added or removed during retrieval?
• Does Trello provide any server‑side support for bounding the query (e.g., filtering by name or date) that could reduce the number of pages needed, and if so, how should these filters be combined with pagination parameters?