MCP server · Databases
Pinecone Developer MCP server
Lets a coding assistant search Pinecone docs, create and inspect indexes, and upsert, search and rerank records while you build.
- Maintainer
- Pinecone (official)
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Runs
- Locally (npx)
- Sign-in
- Optional token
- Last activity
- 2026-08-14
Overview
What it does
Pinecone’s developer MCP server runs locally through npx and uses a Pinecone API key from the PINECONE_API_KEY environment variable. Without a key it can still search the Pinecone documentation, but it cannot touch your indexes. It is aimed at coding assistants, so the agent can see your index configuration and data while it writes code.
With a key, the assistant can list and describe indexes, read record counts per namespace, create an index that uses an integrated embedding model, upsert records and run text searches with metadata filters and reranking. A cascading search tool queries several indexes and merges the results. It only works with indexes that use integrated inference; standalone embeddings and plain vector search are not supported. Pinecone offers a separate Assistant MCP for giving assistants context from a knowledge base.
Tools
What the assistant can do
- search-docs over the Pinecone documentation
- list-indexes, describe-index and describe-index-stats
- create-index-for-model with integrated inference
- upsert-records and search-records with filtering and reranking
- cascading-search across several indexes
- rerank-documents
Install
Install Pinecone Developer MCP server in your app
You need:
- Node.js 20 or newer
- A Pinecone API key for index tools (docs search works without one)
Run in your project. --scope local keeps the servers private to you in this project; use user for every project.
claude mcp add --env PINECONE_API_KEY="${PINECONE_API_KEY}" --scope local pinecone -- npx -y @pinecone-database/mcp
claude mcp add --env PINECONE_API_KEY="$env:PINECONE_API_KEY" --scope local pinecone -- cmd /c npx -y '@pinecone-database/mcp'
- Set PINECONE_API_KEY first, e.g. export PINECONE_API_KEY=… in your shell. The command saves the value, not the variable.
Project root. Commit it to share the servers with your team; each person sets the variables in their own shell.
{
"mcpServers": {
"pinecone": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pinecone-database/mcp"
],
"env": {
"PINECONE_API_KEY": "${PINECONE_API_KEY}"
}
}
}
}
- On native Windows (not WSL), the reference servers’ READMEs start npx through `cmd /c`: if a server won’t start, use "command": "cmd" with "args": ["/c", "npx", …].
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config). Restart Claude after saving.
{
"mcpServers": {
"pinecone": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pinecone-database/mcp"
],
"env": {
"PINECONE_API_KEY": "<PINECONE_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}
- Claude Desktop doesn’t read variables in this file: replace <PINECONE_API_KEY> with the real values.
- This file contains your keys once filled in. It lives in your user folder; never commit or share it.
In your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json for every project.
{
"mcpServers": {
"pinecone": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pinecone-database/mcp"
],
"env": {
"PINECONE_API_KEY": "${env:PINECONE_API_KEY}"
}
}
}
}
In your workspace. VS Code asks for each secret the first time a server starts and stores it securely.
{
"inputs": [
{
"type": "promptString",
"id": "pinecone-api-key",
"description": "PINECONE_API_KEY",
"password": true
}
],
"servers": {
"pinecone": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pinecone-database/mcp"
],
"env": {
"PINECONE_API_KEY": "${input:pinecone-api-key}"
}
}
}
}
macOS/Linux: ~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\devin\mcp_config.json. Read by the default Devin Local agent and by the legacy Cascade agent.
{
"mcpServers": {
"pinecone": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pinecone-database/mcp"
],
"env": {
"PINECONE_API_KEY": "${env:PINECONE_API_KEY}"
}
}
}
}
- Devin’s docs confirm ${env:…} references for the legacy Cascade agent; for the default Devin Local agent they only document them in OAuth settings. If a server can’t authenticate, check Devin’s MCP docs.
Want it alongside other servers? Open Pinecone Developer MCP Server in the MCP config generator and add the rest; it writes one file per app. The snippets follow the setup in the server’s README, checked on 2026-10-14.
Before you install
- With an API key the assistant can create indexes and write records in that project; there is no read-only flag.
- Use a key for a development project rather than production.
- Only indexes with integrated inference are supported.
- A local MCP server runs with your user account’s permissions. Install it only from the source linked above. See how to choose a safe server.
Why it’s listed
Why we list it
Official and focused on the developer loop of designing, filling and testing a Pinecone index.
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