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POST
/
indexes
# EXAMPLE REQUEST 1: Serverless index (on-demand)
PINECONE_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
curl -s "https://api.pinecone.io/indexes" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2025-10" \
  -d '{
        "name": "example-serverless-index",
        "vector_type": "dense",
        "dimension": 1536,
        "metric": "cosine",
        "spec": {
            "serverless": {
                "cloud": "aws",
                "region": "us-east-1"
            }
        },
        "tags": {
            "tag0": "value0"
        },
        "deletion_protection": "disabled"
      }'

# EXAMPLE REQUEST 2: Serverless index (dedicated)
PINECONE_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
curl "https://api.pinecone.io/indexes" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2025-10" \
  -d '{
		"name": "example-serverless-dedicated-index",
		"dimension": 1536,
		"metric": "cosine",
		"deletion_protection": "enabled",
		"tags": {
			"tag0": "value0"
		},
		"vector_type": "dense",
		"spec": {
			"serverless": {
				"cloud": "aws",
				"region": "us-east-1",
				"read_capacity": {
					"mode": "Dedicated",
					"dedicated": {
						"node_type": "b1",
						"scaling": "Manual",
						"manual": {
							"shards": 2,
							"replicas": 1
						}
					}
				}
			}
		}
	}'

# EXAMPLE REQUEST 3: BYOC index
PINECONE_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
curl -s "https://api.pinecone.io/indexes" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2025-10" \
  -d '{
        "name": "example-byoc-index",
        "vector_type": "dense",
        "dimension": 1536,
        "metric": "cosine",
        "spec": {
            "byoc": {
                "environment": "aws-us-east-1-b921"
            }
        },
        "tags": {
            "tag0": "value0"
        },
        "deletion_protection": "disabled"
      }'

// EXAMPLE RESPONSE 1: Serverless index (on-demand)
{
  "name": "example-serverless-ondemand-index",
  "vector_type": "dense",
  "metric": "cosine",
  "dimension": 1536,
  "status": {
    "ready": false,
    "state": "Initializing"
  },
  "host": "example-serverless-ondemand-index-bhnyigt.svc.aped-4627-b74a.pinecone.io",
  "spec": {
    "serverless": {
      "region": "us-east-1",
      "cloud": "aws",
      "read_capacity": {
        "mode": "OnDemand",
        "status": {
          "state": "Ready",
          "current_shards": null,
          "current_replicas": null
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "deletion_protection": "disabled",
  "tags": {
    "tag0": "value0"
  }
}

// EXAMPLE RESPONSE 2: Serverless index (dedicated)
{
	"name": "example-serverless-dedicated-index",
	"vector_type": "dense",
	"metric": "cosine",
	"dimension": 1536,
	"status": {
		"ready": false,
		"state": "Initializing"
	},
	"host": "example-serverless-dedicated-index-bhnyigt.svc.aped-4627-b74a.pinecone.io",
	"spec": {
		"serverless": {
			"region": "us-east-1",
			"cloud": "aws",
			"read_capacity": {
				"mode": "Dedicated",
				"dedicated": {
					"node_type": "b1",
					"scaling": "Manual",
					"manual": {
						"shards": 2,
						"replicas": 1
					}
				},
				"status": {
					"state": "Migrating",
					"current_shards": null,
					"current_replicas": null
				}
			}
		}
	},
	"deletion_protection": "enabled",
	"tags": {
		"tag0": "value0"
	}
}

// EXAMPLE RESPONSE 3: BYOC index
{
    "name": "example-byoc-index",
    "vector_type": "dense",
    "metric": "cosine",
    "dimension": 1536,
    "status": {
        "ready": true,
        "state": "Ready"
    },
    "host": "example-byoc-index-govk0nt.svc.private.aped-4627-b74a.pinecone.io",
    "spec": {
        "byoc": {
            "environment": "aws-us-east-1-b921"
        }
    },
    "deletion_protection": "disabled",
    "tags": {
        "tag0": "value0"
    }
}

# EXAMPLE REQUEST 1: Serverless index (on-demand)
PINECONE_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
curl -s "https://api.pinecone.io/indexes" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2025-10" \
  -d '{
        "name": "example-serverless-index",
        "vector_type": "dense",
        "dimension": 1536,
        "metric": "cosine",
        "spec": {
            "serverless": {
                "cloud": "aws",
                "region": "us-east-1"
            }
        },
        "tags": {
            "tag0": "value0"
        },
        "deletion_protection": "disabled"
      }'

# EXAMPLE REQUEST 2: Serverless index (dedicated)
PINECONE_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
curl "https://api.pinecone.io/indexes" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2025-10" \
  -d '{
		"name": "example-serverless-dedicated-index",
		"dimension": 1536,
		"metric": "cosine",
		"deletion_protection": "enabled",
		"tags": {
			"tag0": "value0"
		},
		"vector_type": "dense",
		"spec": {
			"serverless": {
				"cloud": "aws",
				"region": "us-east-1",
				"read_capacity": {
					"mode": "Dedicated",
					"dedicated": {
						"node_type": "b1",
						"scaling": "Manual",
						"manual": {
							"shards": 2,
							"replicas": 1
						}
					}
				}
			}
		}
	}'

# EXAMPLE REQUEST 3: BYOC index
PINECONE_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
curl -s "https://api.pinecone.io/indexes" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2025-10" \
  -d '{
        "name": "example-byoc-index",
        "vector_type": "dense",
        "dimension": 1536,
        "metric": "cosine",
        "spec": {
            "byoc": {
                "environment": "aws-us-east-1-b921"
            }
        },
        "tags": {
            "tag0": "value0"
        },
        "deletion_protection": "disabled"
      }'

// EXAMPLE RESPONSE 1: Serverless index (on-demand)
{
  "name": "example-serverless-ondemand-index",
  "vector_type": "dense",
  "metric": "cosine",
  "dimension": 1536,
  "status": {
    "ready": false,
    "state": "Initializing"
  },
  "host": "example-serverless-ondemand-index-bhnyigt.svc.aped-4627-b74a.pinecone.io",
  "spec": {
    "serverless": {
      "region": "us-east-1",
      "cloud": "aws",
      "read_capacity": {
        "mode": "OnDemand",
        "status": {
          "state": "Ready",
          "current_shards": null,
          "current_replicas": null
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "deletion_protection": "disabled",
  "tags": {
    "tag0": "value0"
  }
}

// EXAMPLE RESPONSE 2: Serverless index (dedicated)
{
	"name": "example-serverless-dedicated-index",
	"vector_type": "dense",
	"metric": "cosine",
	"dimension": 1536,
	"status": {
		"ready": false,
		"state": "Initializing"
	},
	"host": "example-serverless-dedicated-index-bhnyigt.svc.aped-4627-b74a.pinecone.io",
	"spec": {
		"serverless": {
			"region": "us-east-1",
			"cloud": "aws",
			"read_capacity": {
				"mode": "Dedicated",
				"dedicated": {
					"node_type": "b1",
					"scaling": "Manual",
					"manual": {
						"shards": 2,
						"replicas": 1
					}
				},
				"status": {
					"state": "Migrating",
					"current_shards": null,
					"current_replicas": null
				}
			}
		}
	},
	"deletion_protection": "enabled",
	"tags": {
		"tag0": "value0"
	}
}

// EXAMPLE RESPONSE 3: BYOC index
{
    "name": "example-byoc-index",
    "vector_type": "dense",
    "metric": "cosine",
    "dimension": 1536,
    "status": {
        "ready": true,
        "state": "Ready"
    },
    "host": "example-byoc-index-govk0nt.svc.private.aped-4627-b74a.pinecone.io",
    "spec": {
        "byoc": {
            "environment": "aws-us-east-1-b921"
        }
    },
    "deletion_protection": "disabled",
    "tags": {
        "tag0": "value0"
    }
}

Authorizations

​
Api-Key
string
header
required

An API Key is required to call Pinecone APIs. Get yours from the console.

Headers

​
X-Pinecone-Api-Version
string
default:2025-10
required

Required date-based version header

Body

application/json

The desired configuration for the index.

The configuration needed to create a Pinecone index.

​
name
string
required

The name of the index. Resource name must be 1-45 characters long, start and end with an alphanumeric character, and consist only of lower case alphanumeric characters or '-'.

Required string length: 1 - 45
Example:

"example-index"

​
spec
Serverless · object
required

The spec object defines how the index should be deployed.

For serverless indexes, you define only the cloud and region where the index should be hosted. For pod-based indexes, you define the environment where the index should be hosted, the pod type and size to use, and other index characteristics.

​
dimension
integer<int32>

The dimensions of the vectors to be inserted in the index.

Required range: 1 <= x <= 20000
Example:

1536

​
metric
string

The distance metric to be used for similarity search. You can use 'euclidean', 'cosine', or 'dotproduct'. If the 'vector_type' is 'sparse', the metric must be 'dotproduct'. If the vector_type is dense, the metric defaults to 'cosine'. Possible values: cosine, euclidean, or dotproduct.

​
deletion_protection
string
default:disabled

Whether deletion protection is enabled/disabled for the index. Possible values: disabled or enabled.

​
tags
object

Custom user tags added to an index. Keys must be 80 characters or less. Values must be 120 characters or less. Keys must be alphanumeric, '', or '-'. Values must be alphanumeric, ';', '@', '', '-', '.', '+', or ' '. To unset a key, set the value to be an empty string.

Example:
{ "tag0": "val0", "tag1": "val1" }
​
vector_type
string
default:dense

The index vector type. You can use 'dense' or 'sparse'. If 'dense', the vector dimension must be specified. If 'sparse', the vector dimension should not be specified.

Response

The index has been successfully created.

The IndexModel describes the configuration and status of a Pinecone index.

​
name
string
required

The name of the index. Resource name must be 1-45 characters long, start and end with an alphanumeric character, and consist only of lower case alphanumeric characters or '-'.

Required string length: 1 - 45
Example:

"example-index"

​
metric
string
required

The distance metric to be used for similarity search. You can use 'euclidean', 'cosine', or 'dotproduct'. If the 'vector_type' is 'sparse', the metric must be 'dotproduct'. If the vector_type is dense, the metric defaults to 'cosine'. Possible values: cosine, euclidean, or dotproduct.

​
host
string
required

The URL address where the index is hosted.

Example:

"semantic-search-c01b5b5.svc.us-west1-gcp.pinecone.io"

​
spec
Serverless · object
required

The spec object defines how the index should be deployed.

Example:
{
  "pod": {
    "environment": "us-east-1-aws",
    "metadata_config": {
      "indexed": ["genre", "title", "imdb_rating"]
    },
    "pod_type": "p1.x1",
    "pods": 1,
    "replicas": 1,
    "shards": 1
  }
}
​
status
object
required

The current status of the index

Example:
{
  "ready": true,
  "state": "ScalingUpPodSize"
}
​
vector_type
string
default:dense
required

The index vector type. You can use 'dense' or 'sparse'. If 'dense', the vector dimension must be specified. If 'sparse', the vector dimension should not be specified.

​
dimension
integer<int32>

The dimensions of the vectors to be inserted in the index.

Required range: 1 <= x <= 20000
Example:

1536

​
private_host
string

The private endpoint URL of an index.

Example:

"semantic-search-c01b5b5.svc.private.us-west1-gcp.pinecone.io"

​
deletion_protection
string
default:disabled

Whether deletion protection is enabled/disabled for the index. Possible values: disabled or enabled.

​
tags
object

Custom user tags added to an index. Keys must be 80 characters or less. Values must be 120 characters or less. Keys must be alphanumeric, '', or '-'. Values must be alphanumeric, ';', '@', '', '-', '.', '+', or ' '. To unset a key, set the value to be an empty string.

Example:
{ "tag0": "val0", "tag1": "val1" }
​
embed
object

The embedding model and document fields mapped to embedding inputs.

Example:
{
  "field_map": { "text": "your-text-field" },
  "metric": "cosine",
  "model": "multilingual-e5-large",
  "read_parameters": { "input_type": "query", "truncate": "NONE" },
  "write_parameters": { "input_type": "passage" }
}