> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://vlyai-1c28d863.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Pinecone

> Hosted vector database. Use when you outgrow Convex's built-in vector search or need specialty features.

[Pinecone](https://www.pinecone.io) is a hosted vector database. Use as an alternative to [Convex's built-in vector search](/convex/vector-search) when:

* You have very large vector indexes (10M+ vectors).
* You need specialty features (hybrid search, namespaces, sparse-dense).

<Note>
  Full walkthrough being written.
</Note>

## Setup

`PINECONE_API_KEY` and `PINECONE_INDEX_NAME` in vly secrets. Use the Pinecone SDK from a Convex action.

## Related

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Convex vector search" icon="brain" href="/convex/vector-search">
    The default; cheaper for most use.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Qdrant" icon="brain" href="/integrations/qdrant">
    Open-source alternative.
  </Card>

  <Card title="OpenAI" icon="sparkles" href="/integrations/openai">
    For embeddings.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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