Backups

Note: Backups require an eligible serverless index. They are not supported for full-text search indexes with document schemas containing full_text_search string fields, dense_vector fields, or sparse_vector fields. Check the backup eligibility requirements. Pod-based indexes should use collections instead.

A backup is a static, non-queryable copy of an eligible serverless index and consumes only storage. Restore it into a new serverless index, optionally with new tags and deletionProtection values. For more information, see Backups overview.

The examples below create and manage on-demand backups.

Create a backup

You can create a new backup from an existing index using the index name:

import { Pinecone } from '@pinecone-database/pinecone';

const pc = new Pinecone({ apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY' });

const backup = await pc.backups.create('my-index', {
  name: 'my-index-backup-1',
  description: 'weekly backup',
});

console.log(backup);
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Create a new index from a backup

You can restore a serverless index by creating a new index from a backup. Optionally, you can provide new tags or deletionProtection values when restoring an index. Creating an index from a backup initiates a new restore job, which can be used to view the progress of the index restoration through pc.restoreJobs.describe.

import { Pinecone } from '@pinecone-database/pinecone';

const pc = new Pinecone({ apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY' });

const response = await pc.backups.createIndex(
  '11450b9f-96e5-47e5-9186-03f346b1f385',
  {
    name: 'my-index-restore-1',
  },
);

console.log(response);

// Check the restore job's current status; repeat until it finishes.
const restoreJob = await pc.restoreJobs.describe(response.restoreJobId);
console.log(restoreJob.status);
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Poll with a bounded timeout while the job is Pending. Completed means the restore succeeded; Failed and Cancelled are terminal outcomes that did not complete the restore.

Schedule recurring backups

Use pc.backupSchedules to back up an eligible serverless or BYOC index on a daily, weekly, or monthly cadence with a retention window. Only one schedule per index can be enabled at a time. The backups it produces work with the same pc.backups operations shown on this page.

See Backup schedules for creating a schedule, changing its frequency and retention, pausing and resuming runs, inspecting history, and deleting a schedule.

Describe a backup

The 2026-07 backup model describes its fields under schema; it does not return legacy top-level dimension and metric fields.

You can use a backupId and the pc.backups.describe method to describe a specific backup:

import { Pinecone } from '@pinecone-database/pinecone';

const pc = new Pinecone({ apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY' });

const backup = await pc.backups.describe(
  '11450b9f-96e5-47e5-9186-03f346b1f385',
);
console.log(backup);
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List backups

pc.backups.list() lists backups for your entire project. Use pc.backups.listByIndex(indexName, options) to list backups for one index.

import { Pinecone } from '@pinecone-database/pinecone';

const pc = new Pinecone({ apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY' });

// List backups for the entire project
const projectBackups = await pc.backups.list({ limit: 2 });

// List backups for a specific index
const myIndexBackups = await pc.backups.listByIndex('my-index', {
  limit: 2,
});

console.log(myIndexBackups);
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Describe and list restore jobs

You can use a restoreJobId and the pc.restoreJobs.describe method to describe a specific restore job:

import { Pinecone } from '@pinecone-database/pinecone';

const pc = new Pinecone({ apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY' });

const restoreJob = await pc.restoreJobs.describe(
  '4d4c8693-10fd-4204-a57b-1e3e626fca07',
);

console.log(restoreJob);
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pc.restoreJobs.list lists all the restore jobs for your project:

import { Pinecone } from '@pinecone-database/pinecone';

const pc = new Pinecone({ apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY' });

const projectRestoreJobs = await pc.restoreJobs.list({ limit: 3 });
console.log(projectRestoreJobs);
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Delete backups

You can delete a backup using the backupId and pc.backups.delete:

import { Pinecone } from '@pinecone-database/pinecone';

const pc = new Pinecone({ apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY' });

await pc.backups.delete('6a00902c-d118-4ad3-931c-49328c26d558');
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