quickstart
Pinecone Quickstart
Welcome! This skill walks you through your first Pinecone experience using the tools available to you. In this quickstart, you will learn how to do a simple form of semantic search over some example data.
Prerequisites
Before starting either path, verify:
PINECONE_API_KEYis set in the environment. Get a free key at https://app.pinecone.io/?sessionType=signup- For the Database path: the Pinecone MCP server must be configured and available
Step 0: Choose Your Path
Use AskUserQuestion (or any available user-input tool) to ask the user which path they want:
- Database – Build a vector search index. Best for developers who want to store and search embeddings. Uses the Pinecone MCP + a Python upsert script.
- Assistant – Build a document Q&A assistant. Best for users who want to upload files and ask questions with cited answers. No code required.
More from pinecone-io/skills
pinecone-docs
Curated documentation reference for developers building with Pinecone. Contains links to official docs organized by topic and data format references. Use when writing Pinecone code, looking up API parameters, or needing the correct format for vectors or records.
70pinecone-help
Overview of all available Pinecone skills and what a user needs to get started. Invoke when a user asks what skills are available, how to get started with Pinecone, or what they need to set up before using any Pinecone skill.
63pinecone-cli
Guide for using the Pinecone CLI (pc) to manage Pinecone resources from the terminal. The CLI supports ALL index types (standard, integrated, sparse) and all vector operations — unlike the MCP which only supports integrated indexes. Use for batch operations, vector management, backups, namespaces, CI/CD automation, and full control over Pinecone resources.
59pinecone-assistant
Create, manage, and chat with Pinecone Assistants for document Q&A with citations. Handles all assistant operations - create, upload, sync, chat, context retrieval, and list. Recognizes natural language like "create an assistant from my docs", "ask my assistant about X", or "upload my docs to Pinecone".
59pinecone-query
Query integrated indexes using text with Pinecone MCP. IMPORTANT - This skill ONLY works with integrated indexes (indexes with built-in Pinecone embedding models like multilingual-e5-large). For standard indexes or advanced vector operations, use the CLI skill instead. Requires PINECONE_API_KEY environment variable and Pinecone MCP server to be configured.
58pinecone-mcp
Reference for the Pinecone MCP server tools. Documents all available tools - list-indexes, describe-index, describe-index-stats, create-index-for-model, upsert-records, search-records, cascading-search, and rerank-documents. Use when an agent needs to understand what Pinecone MCP tools are available, how to use them, or what parameters they accept.
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