# turbopuffer L1 · Needs a person turbopuffer is a database for searching text and vectors. **Can an AI agent use turbopuffer? No.** Our agent couldn't get into turbopuffer on its own. Category: Vector databases · Connects by: MCP, API, SDK · Agent payments: None found · Driven: 31 Oct 2026 **How to connect** - MCP server URL: `https://turbopuffer.stlmcp.com` (streamable HTTP, documented). Source: https://turbopuffer.stlmcp.com - Docs page: `https://turbopuffer.com/docs` (tested in our drive). Source: https://turbopuffer.com/docs **Level 1: Needs a person.** Agents can't get in on their own. - Got in by: A person sets it up (Not on its own in its last 2 drives) - Got as far as: Key (Use, Pay and Leave not reached) - To reach L2: Let an agent start without a card. [What the levels mean](https://agentdrives.com/method/levels?via=md) ## From finding it to leaving What an agent managed without a person, at each step. 1. **Find**: On its own. Docs it can act on: llms.txt, an OpenAPI and an MCP server. 40 doc pages read. 2. **Get in**: Stopped. Needs a card to start. API keys are created only in the dashboard, which redirects to onboarding step 3: a Stripe card form subscribing to the launch plan ($16/mo minimum). Stopped here. 3. **Use**: Not reached. Our agent didn't get past key. 4. **Pay**: Reaches the checkout. Stopped at the $16 a month charge. 5. **Leave**: On its own. Nothing to cancel; its account stays. ## Getting in None of the 2 ways in worked without a person. Where it stopped: **Email and code**. No delete option was found in the account menu, docs or API. - Agent on a server (API, MCP, CLI): No. Stops at sign-up: it works only in a browser. - Assistant in its own browser (Like ChatGPT agent): No. Signs up and confirms its email. Needs a card to start. - Signed agent (Known to Cloudflare): Yes. The sign-up page opens. | Way in | What happened | |---|---| | Email and code | Stopped by a card | | Added by an admin | Not tried: Needs a person's account | ## What an agent can do with turbopuffer No task was tried: our agent couldn't get into turbopuffer. Core tasks turbopuffer offers an agent: - Write (upsert) documents with vectors and attributes (API) - Patch (partially update) a document's attributes (API) - Delete a document by id or by filter (API) - Run a vector (ANN) search with filtering (API) - Run a full-text (BM25) search (API) - Run a hybrid search combining vector and BM25 with rank fusion (API) - Query records with filters (exact/kNN, attribute ordering, lookups) (API) - Create a namespace (implicitly on first write) (API) What it can't do, and why: - Get an API key or make any API, SDK or MCP call: Keys appear only after a paid card subscription; no free plan or trial. - Write, search or delete documents and namespaces: Every operation needs the paid API key. 22 more tasks it offers: - List databases and read their schema (API) - Delete a database (namespace) (API) - Branch a namespace (instant copy-on-write clone) (API) - Shard a namespace across multiple indexes (API) - Conditionally write a document only if a condition matches (API) - Copy all documents from one namespace into another (API) - Export all documents from a namespace by paging through query results (API) - Embed documents and queries with native (managed) embedding models (API) - Rerank search results with a managed reranking model (API) - Pin a namespace to reserved compute and disk (API) - Hint the cache to warm a namespace before latency-sensitive requests (API) - Evaluate recall of the vector index against exhaustive search (API) - Back up a namespace across regions (API) - Set row/document-level permission filters on queries (API) - Set a namespace to read-only (API) - Read namespace metadata (row count, size, timestamps) (API) - Encrypt a namespace with a customer-managed key (CMEK) (API) - Connect over private networking (AWS PrivateLink / GCP PSC) (Web app) - Read audit logs of account/API-key events (Web app) - Stream audit logs to an external SIEM or storage destination (Web app) - Create an API key (Web app) - Choose a cloud region (or cross-region deployment) for a namespace (API) **Surface audit:** 26 documented operations, 0 run, 0 passed, 26 blocked (sandbox or plan limits). ## How an agent connects MCP, API, OpenAPI, SDK and llms.txt found. Agent surfaces: API documented · MCP documented · CLI none found · SDK documented · Docs tested · Agent payments none found. Issues found: 2. - **MCP server**: Listed, not tested. Official server. Stainless code mode, 2 tools when driven (npm @turbopuffer/turbopuffer-mcp 2.7.0) It didn't answer when we asked for its tools on 1 Nov 2026. https://turbopuffer.stlmcp.com (2 tools across its docs) - **API**: Listed, not tested. REST/JSON, region in the base URL, Bearer API key. (16 operations across its docs) - **OpenAPI**: Yes. 3.1.0 on GitHub (turbopuffer/turbopuffer-openapi) - **CLI**: None found. - **SDK**: Listed, not tested. TypeScript @turbopuffer/turbopuffer 2.14.0, plus Python, Go, Java, Ruby, Rust, C#. (7 methods across its docs) - **llms.txt**: Yes. https://turbopuffer.com/llms.txt - **Agent payments**: None found. The checkout: Reached the card form and stopped: launch, $16 a month; Checkout: a Stripe card form; An invisible bot check loaded at checkout. - **Docs**: No gaps in what we read. Covers getting started, auth, error codes and code examples. https://turbopuffer.com/docs (40 of 41 pages read) [The standards](https://agentdrives.com/standard) ## Tips for agent builders - Read https://turbopuffer.com/llms-full.txt or append .md to any docs URL for the whole API in Markdown. - On /join, enter the mailed 6-digit code in the same page session: reloading drops the code step. - With a key, use the official MCP (npx -y @turbopuffer/turbopuffer-mcp) or the SDKs; put the region in the base URL, e.g. https://gcp-us-east4.turbopuffer.com. ## How turbopuffer compares In Vector databases: 3 of the 6 products we drove in Vector databases are higher; 2 others share L1. - [LanceDB](https://agentdrives.com/tools/lancedb.md?via=md): L4, Gets in on its own - [Zilliz](https://agentdrives.com/tools/zilliz.md?via=md): L4, Gets in on its own - [Weaviate](https://agentdrives.com/tools/weaviate.md?via=md): L4, Gets in on its own - [Chroma](https://agentdrives.com/tools/trychroma.md?via=md): L1, Can't sign up on its own - [Pinecone](https://agentdrives.com/tools/pinecone.md?via=md): L1, Can't sign up on its own - **turbopuffer** (this page): L1, Can't get an API key on its own [All 6 in Vector databases](https://agentdrives.com/categories/vector-databases?via=md) Sorted by level, then work done, then time to the first call. [How we rank](https://agentdrives.com/method?via=md#order) On our standard (17 criteria: against other vector databases products where we measured 5 or more, otherwise against every product we measured): - [One way to page through lists](https://agentdrives.com/standard#api-03): **Ahead of most** 78 of 87 others (every product) lower, 9 the same. - [Docs an agent can navigate](https://agentdrives.com/standard#docs-11): **Level with most** 3 of 5 others (vector databases products) the same, 2 lower. - [Versions an agent can pin](https://agentdrives.com/standard#api-07): **Level with most** 59 of 97 others (every product) the same, 38 lower. - [Answers sized for an agent](https://agentdrives.com/standard#api-04): **Level with most** 3 of 4 others (vector databases products) the same, 1 lower. - [Prices an agent can read](https://agentdrives.com/standard#find-06): **Level with most** 4 of 5 others (vector databases products) the same, 1 lower. - [Export before leaving](https://agentdrives.com/standard#leave-03): **In the middle** 2 of 5 others (vector databases products) lower, 2 the same, 1 higher. - [Real status codes](https://agentdrives.com/standard#err-01): **The same as all** 5 others (vector databases products). - [Spend an agent can see and cap](https://agentdrives.com/standard#pay-05): **The same as all** 5 others (vector databases products). - [WebMCP tools on the web app](https://agentdrives.com/standard#proto-02): **The same as all** 5 others (vector databases products). - [Pages fit one fetch](https://agentdrives.com/standard#docs-08): **Level with most** 4 of 5 others (vector databases products) the same, 1 higher. - [Fast to the first call](https://agentdrives.com/standard#in-03): **Behind most** 4 of 5 others (vector databases products) higher, 1 lower. - [Every way in works for an agent](https://agentdrives.com/standard#in-11): **Behind most** 3 of 5 others (vector databases products) higher, 2 the same. - [The best way in is built for agents](https://agentdrives.com/standard#in-12): **Behind most** 3 of 5 others (vector databases products) higher, 2 the same. - [Errors a program can read](https://agentdrives.com/standard#err-02): **Behind most** 3 of 5 others (vector databases products) higher, 2 the same. - [A request id on every answer](https://agentdrives.com/standard#err-07): **Behind most** 4 of 5 others (vector databases products) higher, 1 the same. - [A path written for agents](https://agentdrives.com/standard#docs-10): **The lowest result** All 5 others (vector databases products) higher. - [Errors say what to do next](https://agentdrives.com/standard#err-03): **The lowest result** All 5 others (vector databases products) higher. [How each criterion is graded](https://agentdrives.com/standard) ## For the team behind turbopuffer **6 things to fix for agents.** Agent blockers: 1 found · Agent surfaces: 1 issue found. Safety review: no issues found. Agents get stuck at Get in. Prove turbopuffer is yours, then see where each issue is, read your safety findings and ask for a free drive after a fix. How to fix each one comes with the Audit. - Find: Clear - Get in: Blocks agents - Use: Not reached - Pay: Partly - Leave: Clear [Claim turbopuffer, free](https://agentdrives.com/app/products?add=turbopuffer.com&ref=listing) · [What a drive covers](https://agentdrives.com/method?via=md) ## Where turbopuffer fits - Category: [Data and storage](https://agentdrives.com/categories/data?via=md), [Vector databases](https://agentdrives.com/categories/vector-databases?via=md) - Wall: [Card before the first use](https://agentdrives.com/access/pay/card-checkout) (kept our agent out) - Standards: [MCP](https://agentdrives.com/standards/mcp) (tools an agent can call), [OpenAPI](https://agentdrives.com/standards/openapi) (its API, described), [llms.txt](https://agentdrives.com/standards/llms-txt) (its docs, listed for agents) - Steps: [Find](https://agentdrives.com/access/find), [Get in](https://agentdrives.com/access/get-in) (stopped here), [Use](https://agentdrives.com/access/use), [Pay](https://agentdrives.com/access/pay), [Leave](https://agentdrives.com/access/leave) - Rivals: [Chroma](https://agentdrives.com/tools/trychroma?via=md) (L1), [Pinecone](https://agentdrives.com/tools/pinecone?via=md) (L1), [LanceDB](https://agentdrives.com/tools/lancedb?via=md) (L4) Data: [JSON](https://agentdrives.com/api/tools/turbopuffer.json?via=md) · [Markdown](https://agentdrives.com/tools/turbopuffer.md?via=md) · [History](https://agentdrives.com/tools/turbopuffer/history?via=md) · [Atom](https://agentdrives.com/feeds/tools/turbopuffer.atom) · [JSON Feed](https://agentdrives.com/feeds/tools/turbopuffer.json) · licence [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) **Found an error?** [Tell us on this page](https://agentdrives.com/tools/turbopuffer?via=md#correct) or read [how corrections work](https://agentdrives.com/corrections?via=md).