---
title: "Create a backup of an index"
method: POST
path: "/indexes/{index_name}/backups"
tags: ["Manage Indexes"]
---

# Create a backup of an index

`POST /indexes/{index_name}/backups`

Create a backup of an index.

## Path parameters

- `index_name` string, required

## Headers

- `X-Pinecone-Api-Version` string, required

## Request body

- DbControlCreateBackupRequest — The configuration needed to create a backup of an index.
  - `name` string — The name of the backup.
  - `description` string — A description of the backup.

## Response `201`

The backup has been successfully created.

- DbControlBackupModel — The BackupModel describes the configuration and status of a Pinecone backup.
  - `backup_id` string, required — Unique identifier for the backup.
  - `source_index_name` string, required — Name of the index from which the backup was taken.
  - `source_index_id` string, required — ID of the index.
  - `name` string — Optional user-defined name for the backup.
  - `description` string — Optional description providing context for the backup.
  - `status` string, required — Current status of the backup (e.g., Initializing, Ready, Failed).
  - `cloud` string, required — Cloud provider where the backup is stored.
  - `region` string, required — Cloud region where the backup is stored.
  - `dimension` integer — The dimensions of the vectors to be inserted in the index.
  - `metric` string — The distance metric to be used for similarity search. You can use 'euclidean', 'cosine', or 'dotproduct'. If the 'vector_type' is 'sparse', the metric must be 'dotproduct'. If the `vector_type` is `dense`, the metric defaults to 'cosine'. Possible values: `cosine`, `euclidean`, or `dotproduct`.
  - `schema` DbControlMetadataSchema — Schema for the behavior of Pinecone's internal metadata index. By default, all metadata is indexed; when `schema` is present, only fields which are present in the `fields` object with a `filterable: true` are indexed. Note that `filterable: false` is not currently supported.
    - `fields` object, required — A map of metadata field names to their configuration. The field name must be a valid metadata field name. The field name must be unique.
  - `record_count` integer — Total number of records in the backup.
  - `namespace_count` integer — Number of namespaces in the backup.
  - `size_bytes` integer — Size of the backup in bytes.
  - `tags` DbControlIndexTags — Custom user tags added to an index. Keys must be 80 characters or less. Values must be 120 characters or less. Keys must be alphanumeric, '_', or '-'. Values must be alphanumeric, ';', '@', '_', '-', '.', '+', or ' '. To unset a key, set the value to be an empty string.
  - `created_at` string — Timestamp when the backup was created.

## Other responses

- `400` — Bad request. The request body included invalid request parameters.
- `401` — Unauthorized. Possible causes: Invalid API key.
- `402` — Payment required. Organization is on a paid plan and is delinquent on payment.
- `403` — You've exceed your backup quota.
- `422` — Unprocessable entity. The request body could not be deserialized.
- `500` — Internal server error.

---

[API](https://skmtc.net/pinecone/apis/pinecone-api.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.net/pinecone/apis/pinecone-api/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc-service-staging.skmtc.workers.dev/v1/apis/pinecone/pinecone-api/versions/35876583485d/schema)