## TL;DR

Pass the host explicitly with an `http://` scheme: `pc.IndexAsyncio(host="YOUR_HOST", name="test-index")`. Pinecone Local does not support TLS/SSL at all, and `describe_index` returns a scheme-less host that the client assumes is https.

## The error

SSL verification failure when connecting to Pinecone Local with `pc.IndexAsyncio`, even with the `ssl_verify` parameter set. Passing the host from `pc.describe_index(index_name).host` breaks.

## Fix it

1. Stop using the scheme-less host from `describe_index`.
   Success check: you have identified the host string without `http://`.

2. Pass the host explicitly with the http scheme:
   ```python
   async with pc.IndexAsyncio(host="YOUR_HOST", name="test-index") as idx:
       ...
   ```
   Success check: the connection succeeds with no SSL error (reporter confirmed).

3. Do not try to make TLS work: Pinecone Local cannot serve https.
   Success check: not applicable; skip TLS entirely for local.

## When this applies

- Pinecone Local (YOUR_HOST:5081) with `pc.IndexAsyncio`.
- SSL verification fails despite `ssl_verify` being set.

## When it does not apply

- Pinecone cloud indexes (serverless/pod); those require https and work normally.
- Certificate errors against non-local hosts; that is a real TLS problem.

## Compatibility

- pinecone Python client (any recent version).
- Pinecone Local (Docker) on YOUR_HOST:5081.

## Variant phrasings

- Pinecone Local ssl_verify does not work
- IndexAsyncio SSL verification failed YOUR_HOST
- pinecone describe_index host no scheme https assumed

## Why it happens

`describe_index` returns a bare hostname with no URL scheme. The client treats scheme-less hosts as https, but Pinecone Local serves plain http only, so the TLS handshake fails. Passing `http://` explicitly bypasses the assumption. A community PR proposed fixing the scheme handling in the client.

## Edge cases

- If you front Pinecone Local with your own TLS-terminating proxy, keep https and point at the proxy instead.