Protect Your Pinecone API Keys

Q: How do I protect my Pinecone API key?

ShieldKey wraps your Pinecone API key in a proxy token. Your real key stays encrypted — team members use revocable shield tokens that can be disabled in one click, without rotating the underlying key.

Q: Can I use ShieldKey with the @pinecone-database/pinecone SDK?

Yes. ShieldKey works as a drop-in proxy. Point your @pinecone-database/pinecone SDK at proxy.shieldkey.io and use a shield token instead of your real API key. No code changes beyond the base URL and key.

Q: What happens to my Pinecone key if a team member leaves?

Revoke their shield token instantly from the ShieldKey dashboard. Your real Pinecone key stays active — no rotation, no downtime, no re-deploying secrets across services.

Before & After

See how ShieldKey protects your Pinecone integration with minimal code changes.

Before — raw Pinecone key

import { Pinecone } from "@pinecone-database/pinecone";

const pc = new Pinecone({
  apiKey: "pc-abc123..."  // ← in shared .env
});

const index = pc.Index("my-embeddings");
await index.upsert([{ id: "1", values: [...] }]);

After — ShieldKey proxy token

import { Pinecone } from "@pinecone-database/pinecone";

const pc = new Pinecone({
  apiKey: "sk_shield_t_5e1f..."  // ← revocable proxy token
});
// Routes through proxy.shieldkey.io

const index = pc.Index("my-embeddings");
await index.upsert([{ id: "1", values: [...] }]);

What ShieldKey Does for Your Pinecone Keys

Instant Revocation

Disable any team member's access to your Pinecone key in one click. No key rotation. No downtime. No re-deploying environment variables.

Spend Limits

Set per-token spend caps so a compromised token can't run up your Pinecone bill. Get alerts before limits are hit.

IP Allowlisting

Restrict each shield token to specific IPs or CIDR ranges. Even if a token leaks, it's useless from unauthorized networks.

Full Audit Trail

See every API call made through your Pinecone key — who made it, when, from where, and what they accessed.

Zero-Knowledge Encryption

Your Pinecone key is encrypted with AES-256-GCM. It's only decrypted in memory during request proxying — never stored in plaintext.

Team Access Control

Issue individual shield tokens to each team member. When someone leaves, revoke their token — everyone else keeps working.

FAQ

How do I protect my Pinecone API key?

Add your Pinecone key to ShieldKey's encrypted vault. ShieldKey generates a proxy token (starting with sk_shield_t_) that your team uses instead. Your real pc- key stays encrypted and is never exposed to team members.

Can I use ShieldKey with the @pinecone-database/pinecone SDK?

Yes. Point your @pinecone-database/pinecone SDK at proxy.shieldkey.io and use a shield token instead of your real API key. The SDK works identically — ShieldKey transparently proxies every request.

What happens to my Pinecone key if a team member leaves?

Revoke their shield token from the dashboard. Your real Pinecone key stays active — no rotation, no downtime, no re-deploying secrets across services. Everyone else keeps working without interruption.

Does ShieldKey add latency to Pinecone API calls?

ShieldKey's proxy adds less than 25ms at the p50. The proxy decrypts your key in memory, forwards the request, and streams the response back. For most Pinecone API calls, this overhead is negligible.