# Delete a file

This operation is asynchronous. The response includes an operation ID that can be used to poll for completion via the describe operation endpoint.

:::code-group
```bash curl
PINECONE_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
ASSISTANT_NAME="example-assistant"
FILE_ID="070513b3-022f-4966-b583-a9b12e0290ff"

curl -X DELETE "https://prod-1-data.ke.pinecone.io/assistant/files/$ASSISTANT_NAME/$FILE_ID" \
  -H "Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2026-04"
```
:::

:::code-group
```json curl
{
  "id": "op-7777-ffff-0000",
  "operation_type": "delete_file",
  "file_id": "my-file-id-123",
  "status": "Processing",
  "created_on": "2025-10-01T12:30:00Z",
  "percent_complete": 0
}
```
:::

:::callout{intent="note"}
This example shows a `Processing` operation. The `error_message` field is present only when the operation status is `Failed`.
:::

`DELETE /files/{assistant_name}/{assistant_file_id}`

#### Authorizations

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

#### Headers

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `X-Pinecone-Api-Version` | `string` | `2026-04` | Required date-based version header |

#### Path Parameters

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `assistant_name` | `string` | - | The name of the assistant that contains the file. |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `assistant_file_id` | `string` | - | The identifier of the file to be deleted. |

#### Response

`202` — The request to delete the file has been accepted. The deletion will be processed asynchronously.

Describes the status of an ongoing or completed server operation.

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `id` | `string` | - | The unique identifier for the operation. Example: op-1234-abcd-5678 |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `operation_type` | `string` | - | The kind of action represented by this operation, such as uploading or deleting a file. Example: upload_file |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `file_id?` | `string \| null` | - | The identifier of the file being operated on. Example: my-file-id-123 |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `status` | `string` | - | The status of the operation. - Processing: The operation is in progress. - Completed: The operation finished successfully. - Failed: The operation failed. See error_message for details. Example: Processing |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `created_on` | `string` | - | The timestamp when the operation was created, in ISO 8601 format. Example: 2025-10-01T12:30:00.000Z |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `completed_on?` | `string \| null` | - | The timestamp when the operation completed or failed, in ISO 8601 format. Present only when status is Completed or Failed. Example: 2025-10-01T12:35:00.000Z |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `percent_complete?` | `integer` | - | The progress made by the operation, as a percentage (0-100). Required range: 0 <= x <= 100. Example: 42 |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `error_message?` | `string \| null` | - | A message describing the error that caused the operation to fail. Present only when status is Failed. Example: File processing failed: unsupported file format. |

| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `ingestion_units?` | `number \| null` | - | The number of ingestion units consumed by this operation. Present only when status is Completed for file ingestion operations. Example: 50 |

## 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)

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