## TL;DR

Fixed in the non-GRPC client so date-like strings round-trip as strings (reporter confirmed). If you see datetime coercion in metadata, make sure you are on the fixed client version and using the non-GRPC path.

## The error

```text
Issue pinecone-io/python-sdk#161 (closed, 9 comments): ### Is this a new bug in the Pinecone Python client?
- [X] I believe this is a new bug in the Pinecone Python Client
- [X] I have searched the existing issues, and I could not find an existing issue for this bug
```

## Fix

1. Fixed in the non-GRPC client so date-like strings round-trip as strings (reporter confirmed).
2. If you see datetime coercion in metadata, make sure you are on the fixed client version and using the non-GRPC path.

Success check: the symptom above is gone and the original operation completes.

## When to use

- You hit this exact symptom in python-sdk.
- You want the verified fix without digging through the thread.

## When not to use

- A different error in python-sdk, even a similar-looking one.
- General python-sdk setup or credential questions.

## Compatibility

- Python SDK (pinecone-io/python-sdk)

## Variant phrasings

- How to fix "metadata string value returned as datetime.date" in python-sdk
- python-sdk: metadata string value returned as datetime.date

## Source

- https://github.com/pinecone-io/python-sdk/issues/161