:::callout{intent="note"}
Creating and managing aliases requires API version `2026-07` or later and is available through the REST API. Reading through an alias works on any API version, including the current SDKs.
:::

The primary use case for a [namespace alias](/guides/manage-data-namespace-aliases-overview) is swapping the data an application reads without a redeploy: re-ingest into a new namespace, validate it, then flip live reads to it in one call. This guide refreshes the data behind an alias named `example-alias`, moving it from `example-namespace-v1` to `example-namespace-v2` with no downtime. The examples use the vector API; the same alias substitution works on any read endpoint.

## Before you begin

Ensure you have the following:

- An existing index containing the namespace serving live traffic.
- A project role that can manage namespaces, such as [`DataPlaneEditor`](/guides/move-to-production-manage-rbac), `ProjectOwner`, or `ProjectManager`. Managing aliases needs the same access as managing namespaces directly.

## Swap the namespace

:::::steps
:::step{title="Create an alias"}
Create an alias pointing at the namespace serving live traffic. Specify a `name` for the alias and the `target_namespace` it points at.

```shell curl
# To get the unique host for an index,
# see https://docs.pinecone.io/guides/manage-data/target-an-index
PINECONE_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
INDEX_HOST="INDEX_HOST"

curl "https://$INDEX_HOST/namespace-aliases" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2026-07" \
  -d '{
        "name": "example-alias",
        "target_namespace": "example-namespace-v1"
      }'
```

The response returns the alias:

```json curl
{
  "name": "example-alias",
  "target_namespace": "example-namespace-v1",
  "created_at": "2026-09-01T12:00:00Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-09-01T12:00:00Z"
}
```
:::

:::step{title="Read through the alias"}
Point your application's reads at the alias name. Pass it wherever you'd pass a namespace name; here, that's the `namespace` field in a query request.

```shell curl
PINECONE_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
INDEX_HOST="INDEX_HOST"

curl "https://$INDEX_HOST/query" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2026-07" \
  -d '{
        "namespace": "example-alias",
        "vector": [0.1, 0.2, 0.3, ...],
        "topK": 3,
        "includeMetadata": true
      }'
```

The response's `namespace` field reports the namespace that served the read. You sent `example-alias`, and the read came back from `example-namespace-v1`, so you can verify what the alias points at from the read itself.
:::

:::step{title="Ingest the new data"}
Ingest the refreshed data into a new namespace. Writes never use the alias, so live read traffic keeps landing on `example-namespace-v1` while you build `example-namespace-v2`.

```shell curl
PINECONE_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
INDEX_HOST="INDEX_HOST"

curl "https://$INDEX_HOST/vectors/upsert" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2026-07" \
  -d '{
        "namespace": "example-namespace-v2",
        "vectors": [
          { "id": "vec1", "values": [0.1, 0.2, 0.3, ...] }
        ]
      }'
```

Validate `example-namespace-v2` by reading it directly by its own name.
:::

::::step{title="Cut over in one call"}
Repoint the alias to the new namespace. The repoint is atomic (all or nothing, no partial state), and when the call returns success, all reads resolve to the new target.

:::callout{intent="note"}
A paginated read (a list, or a filtered fetch) that's already in progress when you repoint finishes its remaining pages against the new target.
:::

```shell curl
PINECONE_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
INDEX_HOST="INDEX_HOST"

curl -X PATCH "https://$INDEX_HOST/namespace-aliases/example-alias" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2026-07" \
  -d '{
        "target_namespace": "example-namespace-v2"
      }'
```
::::

:::step{title="Verify the cutover"}
Describe the alias to confirm the current target and the last repoint time:

```shell curl
PINECONE_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
INDEX_HOST="INDEX_HOST"

curl -X GET "https://$INDEX_HOST/namespace-aliases/example-alias" \
  -H "Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2026-07"
```

The `target_namespace` now reads `example-namespace-v2`, and `updated_at` has advanced to the repoint time:

```json curl
{
  "name": "example-alias",
  "target_namespace": "example-namespace-v2",
  "created_at": "2026-09-01T12:00:00Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-09-01T12:30:00Z"
}
```
:::

:::step{title="Retire the old namespace"}
When you're ready, [delete](/guides/manage-data-manage-namespaces#delete-a-namespace) the old `example-namespace-v1` namespace. The delete succeeds now that no alias targets it. Before the repoint, the delete would have been rejected because the alias still pointed at it.
:::
:::::

## See also

- [Namespace aliases overview](/guides/manage-data-namespace-aliases-overview)
- [Manage aliases](/guides/manage-data-namespace-aliases-manage-aliases)

## Related pages

- [Namespace aliases overview](./manage-data-namespace-aliases-overview.md)
- [Manage namespace aliases](./manage-data-namespace-aliases-manage-aliases.md)

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