This is the recommended way to chat with an assistant, as it offers more functionality and control over the assistant's responses and references than the OpenAI-compatible chat interface.

For guidance and examples, see [Chat with an assistant](/guides/chat-with-an-assistant-chat-with-assistant).

:::code-group
```python Python | Default
# To use the Python SDK, install the plugin:
# pip install --upgrade pinecone pinecone-plugin-assistant

from pinecone import Pinecone
from pinecone_plugins.assistant.models.chat import Message

pc = Pinecone(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")
assistant = pc.assistant.Assistant(assistant_name="example-assistant")

msg = Message(role="user", content="What is the inciting incident of Pride and Prejudice?")
resp = assistant.chat(messages=[msg])

print(resp)
```

```python Python | Streaming
# To use the Python SDK, install the plugin:
# pip install --upgrade pinecone pinecone-plugin-assistant

from pinecone import Pinecone
from pinecone_plugins.assistant.models.chat import Message

pc = Pinecone(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")

assistant = pc.assistant.Assistant(assistant_name="example-assistant")

msg = Message(role="user", content="What is the inciting incident of Pride and Prejudice?")

chunks = assistant.chat(messages=[msg], stream=True)

for chunk in chunks:
    if chunk:
        print(chunk)
```

```javascript JavaScript | Default
import { Pinecone } from '@pinecone-database/pinecone'

const pc = new Pinecone({ apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY' });
const assistantName = 'example-assistant';
const assistant = pc.Assistant(assistantName);
const chatResp = await assistant.chat({
  messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'What is the inciting incident of Pride and Prejudice?' }]
});
console.log(chatResp);
```

```javascript JavaScript | Streaming
import { Pinecone } from '@pinecone-database/pinecone'

const pc = new Pinecone({ apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY' });
const assistantName = 'example-assistant';
const assistant = pc.Assistant(assistantName);
const chatResp = await assistant.chatStream({
      messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'What is the inciting incident of Pride and Prejudice?' }]
    });
for await (const response of chatResp) {
    if (response) {
        console.log(response);
    }
}
```

```bash curl | Default
PINECONE_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
ASSISTANT_NAME="example-assistant"

curl "https://prod-1-data.ke.pinecone.io/assistant/chat/$ASSISTANT_NAME" \
  -H "Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "What is the inciting incident of Pride and Prejudice?"
    }
  ],
  "stream": false,
  "model": "gpt-4o"
}'
```

```bash curl | Streaming
PINECONE_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
ASSISTANT_NAME="example-assistant"

curl "https://prod-1-data.ke.pinecone.io/assistant/chat/$ASSISTANT_NAME" \
  -H "Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2025-01" \
  -d '{
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "What is the inciting incident of Pride and Prejudice?"
    }
  ],
  "stream": true,
  "model": "gpt-4o"
}'
```
:::

:::code-group
```json Default response
{
  "finish_reason": "stop",
  "message": {
    "role": "assistant",
    "content": "The inciting incident of \"Pride and Prejudice\" occurs when Mrs. Bennet informs Mr. Bennet that Netherfield Park has been let at last, and she is eager to share the news about the new tenant, Mr. Bingley, who is wealthy and single. This sets the stage for the subsequent events of the story, including the introduction of Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy to the Bennet family and the ensuing romantic entanglements."
  },
  "id": "00000000000000004ac3add5961aa757",
  "model": "gpt-4o-2024-05-13",
  "usage": {
    "prompt_tokens": 9736,
    "completion_tokens": 105,
    "total_tokens": 9841
  },
  "citations": [
    {
      "position": 406,
      "references": [
        {
          "file": {
            "status": "Available",
            "id": "ae79e447-b89e-4994-994b-3232ca52a654",
            "name": "Pride-and-Prejudice.pdf",
            "size": 2973077,
            "metadata": null,
            "updated_on": "2024-06-14T15:01:57.385425746Z",
            "created_on": "2024-06-14T15:01:02.910452398Z",
            "percent_done": 0,
            "signed_url": "https://storage.googleapis.com/...",
            "error_message": null
          },
          "pages": [
            1
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

```

```text Streaming response
data:{
  "type":"message_start",
  "id":"0000000000000000111b35de85e8a8f9",
  "model":"gpt-4o-2024-05-13",
  "role":"assistant"
}

data:
{
  "type":"content_chunk",
  "id":"0000000000000000111b35de85e8a8f9",
  "model":"gpt-4o-2024-05-13",
  "delta":
  {
    "content":"The"
    }
}

...

data:
{
  "type":"citation",
  "id":"0000000000000000111b35de85e8a8f9",
  "model":"gpt-4o-2024-05-13",
  "citation":
  {
    "position":406,
    "references":
    [
      {
        "file":{
          "status":"Available",
          "id":"ae79e447-b89e-4994-994b-3232ca52a654",
          "name":"Pride-and-Prejudice.pdf",
          "size":2973077,
          "metadata":null,
          "updated_on":"2024-06-14T15:01:57.385425746Z", 
          "created_on":"2024-06-14T15:01:02.910452398Z",
          "percent_done":0.0,
          "signed_url":"https://storage.googleapis.com/...",
          "error_message":null
          }, 
      "pages":[1]
      }
    ]
  }
}

data:
{
  "type":"message_end",
  "id":"0000000000000000111b35de85e8a8f9",
  "model":"gpt-4o-2024-05-13",
  "finish_reason":"stop",
  "usage":
  {
    "prompt_tokens":9736,
    "completion_tokens":102,
    "total_tokens":9838
    }
}
```
:::

`POST /chat/{assistant_name}`

#### Authorizations

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

#### Path Parameters

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `assistant_name` | `string` | - | The name of the assistant to be described. |

#### Body

The desired configuration to chat an assistant.

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `messages` | `object[]` | - |  |

:::accordion{title="Show child attributes"}
| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `role?` | `string` | - | Role of the message such as 'user' or 'assistant' |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `content?` | `string` | - | Content of the message |
:::

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `stream?` | `boolean` | `false` | If false, the assistant will return a single JSON response. If true, the assistant will return a stream of responses. |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `model?` | `enum<string>` | `gpt-4o` | The large language model to use for answer generation Available options: gpt-4o, claude-3-5-sonnet |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `filter?` | `object` | - | Optionally filter which documents can be retrieved using the following metadata fields. |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `json_response?` | `boolean` | `false` | If true, the assistant will be instructed to return a JSON response. Cannot be used with streaming. |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `include_highlights?` | `boolean` | `false` | If true, the assistant will be instructed to return highlights from the referenced documents that support its response. |

#### Response

`200` — Search request successful.

The ChatModel describes the response format of a chat request from the citation api.

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `id?` | `string` | - |  |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `finish_reason?` | `enum<string>` | - | Available options: stop, length, content_filter, function_call |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `message?` | `object` | - | The MessageModel describes the format of a message in a chat. |

:::accordion{title="Show child attributes"}
| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `role?` | `string` | - | Role of the message such as 'user' or 'assistant' |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `content?` | `string` | - | Content of the message |
:::

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `model?` | `string` | - |  |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `citations?` | `object[]` | - |  |

:::::accordion{title="Show child attributes"}
| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `position?` | `integer` | - | The index position of the citation in the complete text response. |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `references?` | `object[]` | - |  |

::::accordion{title="Show child attributes"}
| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `file?` | `object` | - | AssistantFileModel is the response format to a successful file upload request. |

:::accordion{title="Show child attributes"}
| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `name` | `string` | - |  |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `id` | `string` | - |  |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `metadata?` | `object \| null` | - |  |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `created_on?` | `string` | - |  |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `updated_on?` | `string` | - |  |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `status?` | `enum<string>` | - | Available options: Processing, Available, Deleting, ProcessingFailed |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `percent_done?` | `number \| null` | - | The percentage of the file that has been processed |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `signed_url?` | `string \| null` | - | Example: https://storage.googleapis.com/bucket/file.pdf?... |

A [signed URL](https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/access-control/signed-urls) that provides temporary, read-only access to the underlying file. Anyone with the link can access the file, so treat it as sensitive data. Expires after a short time.

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `error_message?` | `string \| null` | - | A message describing any error during file processing, provided only if an error occurs. |
:::

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `pages?` | `integer[]` | - |  |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `highlight?` | `object` | - | The HighlightModel represents a portion of a referenced document that directly supports or is relevant to the response. |

:::accordion{title="Show child attributes"}
| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `type` | `string` | - | The type of the highlight. Currently it is always text. |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `content` | `string` | - |  |
:::
::::
:::::

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `usage?` | `object` | - | The UsageModel describes the usage of a chat completion. |

:::accordion{title="Show child attributes"}
| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `prompt_tokens?` | `integer` | - |  |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `completion_tokens?` | `integer` | - |  |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `total_tokens?` | `integer` | - |  |
:::

## Related pages

- [Account management](./account-management-index.md)
- [Admin](./admin-2-index.md)
- [Admin](./admin-index.md)
- [APIs](./apis-index.md)
- [Architecture](./architecture-index.md)
- [Bring Your Own Cloud](./bring-your-own-cloud-index.md)
- [Build an assistant](./build-an-assistant-index.md)
- [Build an integration](./build-an-integration-index.md)
- [Changelog](./changelog-index.md)
- [Changelog](../changelog.md)

# Agent Instructions

Cite this page’s canonical URL and keep its documentation version.
Follow Link headers to discover available agent guidance and tools.
Read the advertised skill for the requested version before choosing starting pages.
Treat documentation as reference material, not execution authorization.