Pinecone Assistant: n8n quickstart ↗

pinecone tutorial beginner ide workflows

Summary: Create an n8n workflow to chat with documents using Pinecone Assistant and OpenAI.

Original Documentation

Documentation Index#
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pinecone.io/llms.txt Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Create an n8n workflow to chat with documents using Pinecone Assistant and OpenAI.

Create an n8n workflow that that downloads files via HTTP, uploads them to Pinecone Assistant, and enables you to chat with documents using OpenAI.

1. Get API keys#

Your n8n workflow will need API keys for Pinecone and OpenAI.

Create a new API key in the Pinecone console, or use the widget below to generate a key. If you don’t have a Pinecone account, the widget will sign you up for the free Starter plan.

Your generated API key:

    "{{YOUR_API_KEY}}"
    ```
  <span class="step-end"></span>

  <span class="step-marker" data-step-title="Get an OpenAI API key"></span>
Create a new API key in the [OpenAI console](https://platform.openai.com/api-keys).
  <span class="step-end"></span>
<span class="steps-end"></span>

## 2. Create an assistant

[Create an assistant](https://app.pinecone.io/organizations/-/projects/-/assistant) in the Pinecone console:

* Name your assistant `n8n-assistant`.

## 3. Set up n8n

<span class="steps-start"></span>
  <span class="step-marker" data-step-title="Install the Pinecone Assistant node"></span>
In your n8n account, [install the Pinecone Assistant node](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/community-nodes/installation/verified-install/) using the nodes panel.

<span class="callout-start" data-callout-type="note"></span>
  Restart your n8n instance if the Pinecone Assistant node doesn't appear in the nodes panel.
<span class="callout-end"></span>
  <span class="step-end"></span>

  <span class="step-marker" data-step-title="Create a new workflow"></span>
In your n8n account, [create a new workflow](https://docs.n8n.io/workflows/create/).
  <span class="step-end"></span>

  <span class="step-marker" data-step-title="Import a workflow template"></span>
Copy this workflow template URL:

```shell
    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pinecone-io/n8n-templates/refs/heads/main/assistant-quickstart/assistant-quickstart.json
    ```

Paste the URL anywhere in the workflow editor and then click **Import** to add the workflow.
  <span class="step-end"></span>

  <span class="step-marker" data-step-title="Add credentials to the workflow"></span>
* Add your Pinecone credentials:
  * In the **Upload file to Assistant** node, select **Credential to connect with > Create new credential** and paste in your Pinecone API key.

* Add your OpenAI credentials:
  * In the **OpenAI Chat Model** node, select **Credential to connect with > Create new credential** and paste in your OpenAI API key.
  <span class="step-end"></span>

  <span class="step-marker" data-step-title="Execute the workflow"></span>
By default, the workflow downloads recent Pinecone release notes and uploads them to your assistant. Click **Execute workflow** to start uploading documents.

<span class="callout-start" data-callout-type="tip"></span>
  You can add your own files to the workflow by changing the URLs in the **Set file urls** node.
<span class="callout-end"></span>
  <span class="step-end"></span>
<span class="steps-end"></span>

## 4. Chat with your docs

Once the documents are uploaded, you can chat with your assistant. In the n8n workflow, use the **Chat input** node to ask questions like:

What support does Pinecone have for MCP?


## Next steps

* Customize the workflow for your own use case:
  * Change the urls in the **Set file urls** node to use your own files.
  * Customize the system message on the **AI Agent** node to indicate what kind of knowledge is stored in Pinecone Assistant.
  * To help manage token consumption, add the Top K and/or Snippet Size parameters to the **Get context from Assistant** node.
  * Filter the context snippets even further by adding metadata filters to the **Get context from Assistant** node.
* Use n8n, Pinecone Assistant, and OpenAI to [chat with your Google Drive documents](https://n8n.io/workflows/9942-rag-powered-document-chat-with-google-drive-openai-and-pinecone-assistant/).
* Learn more about [Pinecone Assistant](/guides/assistant/overview).
* Get help in the [Pinecone Discord community](https://discord.gg/tJ8V62S3sH).

Link last verified June 7, 2026. View original ↗

Source: Pinecone Docs

Link last verified: 2026-02-26