Hi , I am new in automation system. I would like to ask about how can i manage files in PineCone Assistance via HTTP Requests Node.
Describe the problem/error/question
I succeed to call PineCone Assistance chat via HTTP Requests node , however it's not work at Upload files , Lists files. I use this manual but it's still not working. https://docs.pinecone.io/reference/api/2025-04/assistant/upload_file
What is the error message (if any)?
Bad request - please check your parameters 400 Bad Request Error: Bad Request Your client has issued a malformed or illegal request.
Full message
400 - "\n<html><head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text/html;charset=utf-8\">\n<title>400 Bad Request</title>\n</head>\n<body text=#000000 bgcolor=#ffffff>\n<h1>Error: Bad Request</h1>\n<h2>Your client has issued a malformed or illegal request.</h2>\n<h2></h2>\n</body></html>\n"
I’m a developer advocate at Pinecone about to share a template to do just what you’re asking. I’ll share here when done.
To solve your problem, instead of using the Predefined Credential for PineconeApi, which is for the Pinecone Vector Store node, you’ll need to use Generic Credential Type and add it to the Header like this:
I doesn’t have problem with APIs key , or at least that is what I understood. I succeed using HTTP Request node in N8N to call Assistance Chat LLM to gather information and reply me. In this case I didn’t using predefined CredentialType which is worked. It’s shame for me to admit I using Youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QojPKL96Dx4 to make it’s work around at 7:00 in video.
But when I try to using HTTP Requests node for Upload file into Assistance , it’s not working I try to using manual Upload file to assistant - Pinecone Docs to change a JSON body it’s not working.
Can you provide me a example for JSON body inside HTTP Request node I should use in N8N ? I know it’s easier and more effective to useing GUI via PineCone Console website. But I require it to progress.
Got it. No need to use the Pinecone Console to upload/update files!
I would suggest using the Assistant as a tool through it’s MCP server url. That will return you “context” that can be used along with the model you’re using in n8n. Otherwise you will need to manage the chat back and forth yourself and that will get more complex with the json as you’re discovering. Also, the chat endpoint returns the output already generated, which will then get sent to the AI Agent’s model (if that’s how you have it set up like in the video), which means you’re using more context/tokens and generating output twice.
If you’re set on using the chat endpoint, I’m interested in learning what you need from that that this approach won’t offer. That will help me understand your issue better.
