Pinecone MCP MCP Server

Model Context Protocol server for Pinecone - enables AI assistants to interact with Pinecone indexes and documentation

Local serverstdio

What is the Pinecone MCP MCP server?

Pinecone MCP MCP server exists for a simple reason — assistants are far more useful when they can act on Pinecone MCP directly instead of describing what you should do. Model Context Protocol server for Pinecone - enables AI assistants to interact with Pinecone indexes and documentation.

What you get

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a standard that allows coding assistants and other AI tools to interact with platforms like Pinecone. The Pinecone Developer MCP Server allows you to connect these tools with Pinecone projects and documentation.

What the assistant can call

Once Pinecone MCP is connected, these are the calls the assistant has available:

  • search-docs — Search the official Pinecone documentation
  • list-indexes — Lists all Pinecone indexes
  • describe-index — Describes the configuration of an index
  • describe-index-stats — Provides statistics about the data in the index, including the number of records and available namespaces
  • create-index-for-model — Creates a new index that uses an integrated inference model to embed text as vectors
  • upsert-records — Inserts or updates records in an index with integrated inference
  • search-records — Searches for records in an index based on a text query, using integrated inference for embedding. Has options for metadata filtering and reranking
  • cascading-search — Searches for records across multiple indexes, deduplicating and reranking the results
  • rerank-documents — Reranks a collection of records or text documents using a specialized reranking model
  • Tools — Pinecone Developer MCP Server provides the following tools for AI assistants to use: - search-docs: Search the official Pinecone documentation. -
  • Limitations — Only indexes with integrated inference are supported. Assistants, indexes without integrated inference, standalone embeddings, and vector search are

Configuration and credentials

You will need one environment variable: PINECONE_API_KEY. The server will not start without them, which is usually why the tools fail to appear on a first run. Keep credentials in your client's env block or a secrets manager rather than in a file you might commit.

Setting it up

Installation goes through your MCP client rather than a global install: point it at @pinecone-database/mcp on npm and it is fetched when the client starts. The copy-paste blocks for Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor are further down this page.

Choosing this one

Among the knowledge and memory options, the useful question is rarely "what can it do" but "what does it cost you to run" — permissions, credentials, and how much of your context its toolset consumes. Pinecone MCP's toolset — search-docs, list-indexes, describe-index and 8 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by pinecone-io; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

SyncDev reviews every entry in this directory against the project's own documentation before publishing, and revisits them as servers change.

Before you rely on it

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • With 11 tools registered it takes up a noticeable share of the context window; turn it off in projects that never touch Pinecone MCP.
  • Missing credentials fail quietly in some clients — if no tools show up, check the environment block first.
  • MCP clients confirm each tool call by default. Leave that on until you have watched what the pinecone mcp mcp server does with a few real requests.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
search-docsSearch the official Pinecone documentation.
list-indexesLists all Pinecone indexes.
describe-indexDescribes the configuration of an index.
describe-index-statsProvides statistics about the data in the index, including the number of records and available namespaces.
create-index-for-modelCreates a new index that uses an integrated inference model to embed text as vectors.
upsert-recordsInserts or updates records in an index with integrated inference.
search-recordsSearches for records in an index based on a text query, using integrated inference for embedding. Has options for metadata filtering and reranking.
cascading-searchSearches for records across multiple indexes, deduplicating and reranking the results.
rerank-documentsReranks a collection of records or text documents using a specialized reranking model.
ToolsPinecone Developer MCP Server provides the following tools for AI assistants to use: - search-docs: Search the official Pinecone documentation. - list-indexes: Lists all Pinecone indexes. - describe-index: Describes the
LimitationsOnly indexes with integrated inference are supported. Assistants, indexes without integrated inference, standalone embeddings, and vector search are not supported.

How to install the Pinecone MCP MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pinecone": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y", "@pinecone-database/mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PINECONE_API_KEY": "<your pinecone api key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration as documented by the project. Restart the client after saving.

Configuration

VariableDescriptionRequired
PINECONE_API_KEYCredential the server authenticates with.Yes

Example prompts to try

  • Use Pinecone MCP to search-docs.
  • Use Pinecone MCP to list-indexes.
  • Use Pinecone MCP to describe-index.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Pinecone MCP to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 11 tools (search-docs, list-indexes, describe-index, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Pinecone MCP directly.