- `documents`: Each update is identified by its `_id`. Any other fields set new values for those fields, and fields listed in `_remove_fields` are removed from the document. Fields that are not mentioned are left unchanged. Updates to a document that does not exist are accepted but have no effect.
- `filter`: The same patch is applied to every document matching a metadata filter expression. The patch is given by `set_fields` and/or `remove_fields`, at least one of which must be specified. Text-match operators (`$match_phrase`, `$match_all`, `$match_any`) are not supported in a filtered update; they are only supported in search. The response reports `matched_records`, the number of documents the filter matched.

`documents` and the by-filter fields (`filter`, `set_fields`, `remove_fields`) are mutually exclusive.

:::code-group
```python Python
# pip install --upgrade pinecone
import os
from pinecone import Pinecone

pc = Pinecone(api_key=os.environ["PINECONE_API_KEY"])
index = pc.Index(name="articles")

NAMESPACE = "example-namespace"

# Patch specific documents by ID
index.documents.update(
    namespace=NAMESPACE,
    documents=[
        {"_id": "doc1", "title": "Updated title"},
        {"_id": "doc2", "_remove_fields": ["content"]},
    ],
)

# Apply the same patch to every document matching a metadata filter
index.documents.update(
    namespace=NAMESPACE,
    filter={"category": {"$eq": "news"}},
    set_fields={"category": "archive"},
    remove_fields=["year"],
)
```

```shell curl
PINECONE_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
INDEX_HOST="articles-abc123.svc.us-east-1.pinecone.io"

# EXAMPLE REQUEST 1: Patch specific documents by ID
curl "https://$INDEX_HOST/namespaces/__default__/documents/update" \
  -H "Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2026-07" \
  -d '{
    "documents": [
      { "_id": "doc1", "title": "Updated title" },
      { "_id": "doc2", "_remove_fields": ["content"] }
    ]
  }'

# EXAMPLE REQUEST 2: Update by metadata filter
curl "https://$INDEX_HOST/namespaces/__default__/documents/update" \
  -H "Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2026-07" \
  -d '{
    "filter": { "category": { "$eq": "news" } },
    "set_fields": { "category": "archive" },
    "remove_fields": ["year"]
  }'
```
:::

`POST /namespaces/{namespace}/documents/update`

:::code-group
```json title="202"
{
  "matched_records": 42
}
```

```json title="400"
{
  "error": {
    "code": "INVALID_ARGUMENT",
    "message": "No 'ids' or 'filter' provided in the document fetch request. Provide at least one document ID in 'ids', or a metadata filter in 'filter'."
  },
  "status": 400
}
```

```json title="412"
{
  "error": {
    "code": "INVALID_ARGUMENT",
    "message": "No 'ids' or 'filter' provided in the document fetch request. Provide at least one document ID in 'ids', or a metadata filter in 'filter'."
  },
  "status": 400
}
```

```json title="4XX"
{
  "error": {
    "code": "INVALID_ARGUMENT",
    "message": "No 'ids' or 'filter' provided in the document fetch request. Provide at least one document ID in 'ids', or a metadata filter in 'filter'."
  },
  "status": 400
}
```

```json title="5XX"
{
  "error": {
    "code": "INVALID_ARGUMENT",
    "message": "No 'ids' or 'filter' provided in the document fetch request. Provide at least one document ID in 'ids', or a metadata filter in 'filter'."
  },
  "status": 400
}
```
:::

#### Authorizations

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `Api-Key` | `string` | - |  |

An API Key is required to call Pinecone APIs. Get yours from the [console](https://app.pinecone.io/).

#### Headers

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `X-Pinecone-Api-Version` | `string` | `2026-07` | Required date-based version header |

#### Path Parameters

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `namespace` | `string` | - | The namespace to update documents in. |

#### Body

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `documents?` | `object[]` | - | The list of partial document updates to apply. Mutually exclusive with filter, and with a non-empty set_fields or remove_fields. |

:::accordion{title="Show child attributes"}
| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `_id` | `string` | - | The unique identifier of the document to update. Required string length: 1 - 512 |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `_remove_fields?` | `string[]` | - | A list of field names to delete from the document. |
:::

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `filter?` | `object` | - | A metadata filter expression selecting the documents to patch with set_fields and remove_fields. Must not be empty; an empty filter is rejected rather than matching every document. Text-match operators ($match_phrase, $match_all, $match_any) are not supported here, since documents are selected on metadata alone. Mutually exclusive with documents. |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `set_fields?` | `object` | - | The fields to set on every document matching filter, and the values to set them to. When non-empty, only valid together with filter; an empty object asks for no change and is ignored. |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `remove_fields?` | `string[]` | - | The names of the fields to remove from every document matching filter. When non-empty, only valid together with filter; an empty list asks for no change and is ignored. |

#### Response

`202` — The update request was successfully accepted.

The response for the `update_documents` operation.

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `matched_records?` | `integer` | - | The number of documents that matched filter when the update was accepted. Only returned for a filtered update; a per-ID update reports no count. The patch is applied asynchronously, so this is a point-in-time count rather than a guarantee of the number of documents ultimately patched. Example: 42 |

## Related pages

- [Upsert documents](./database-data-plane-upsert-documents.md)
- [Search documents](./database-data-plane-search-documents.md)
- [Fetch documents](./database-data-plane-fetch-documents.md)
- [List documents](./database-data-plane-list-documents.md)
- [Delete documents](./database-data-plane-delete-documents.md)

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