Handle edge cases in pagination

**Problem**
When working with config, the error messages could be more descriptive.

**Suggestion**
Improve error handling and add detailed error messages.

**Context**
This would help with debugging and maintenance.

The issue names no files, tests, or entry points; begin by locating config parsing and its current error paths. Confirm the affected edge cases and define done as descriptive errors for them, with regression coverage if the repository provides relevant tests.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.