Gke Golden Path

GKE Golden Path Configuration

The golden path is the recommended Autopilot configuration for production

clusters. It defines sensible defaults — when the user requests different

settings, apply them and note relevant trade-offs.

> MCP Tools: get_cluster, create_cluster, update_cluster

Rules

• Default to the golden path. Use golden path values unless the user

requests otherwise. When deviating, note trade-offs but respect the user's

choice.

• Day-0 vs Day-1. Flag Day-0 decisions (networking, private nodes,

subnets, IP allocation) prominently — they are hard/impossible to change

after creation.

• Tool preference: MCP > gcloud > kubectl. See the gke-basics skill's

CLI reference for full coverage matrix and override options. If the user

says "use gcloud" or "use kubectl", respect that for the session.

• Document decisions and rationale, especially for Day-0 choices and

golden path deviations.

Required Inputs

If the user is unsure, use golden path defaults.

• Project ID (required)
• Region (required, e.g., us-central1)
• Cluster name (required)
• Environment type: dev/test or production (defaults to production)
• Networking: bring-your-own VPC/subnet or auto-create (default:

auto-create)

• Scale expectations: expected node/pod count, workload types
• Cost constraints: Spot VM tolerance, budget considerations

Always-Apply Defaults

Recommended best practices applied by default. If the user requests a different

setting, apply it and briefly note the security or operational trade-off.

Setting | Golden Path Value

------------------------------------------------------------------ | -----------------

autopilot.enabled | true

privateClusterConfig.enablePrivateNodes | true

masterAuthorizedNetworksConfig.privateEndpointEnforcementEnabled | true

secretManagerConfig.enabled + rotationInterval: 120s | true

rbacBindingConfig.enableInsecureBinding* | false (both)

workloadIdentityConfig.workloadPool | enabled

networkConfig.datapathProvider | ADVANCED_DATAPATH

networkConfig.dnsConfig.clusterDns | CLOUD_DNS

autoscaling.autoscalingProfile | OPTIMIZE_UTILIZATION

verticalPodAutoscaling.enabled | true

monitoringConfig components | SYSTEM_COMPONENTS, STORAGE, POD, DEPLOYMENT, STATEFULSET, DAEMONSET, HPA, JOBSET, CADVISOR, KUBELET, DCGM, APISERVER, SCHEDULER, CONTROLLER_MANAGER

loggingConfig components | SYSTEM_COMPONENTS, WORKLOADS (enabled by default)

advancedDatapathObservabilityConfig.enableMetrics | true

nodeConfig.shieldedInstanceConfig.enableSecureBoot | true

nodeConfig.workloadMetadataConfig.mode | GKE_METADATA

nodeConfig.gcfsConfig.enabled / gvnic.enabled | true / true

addonsConfig.statefulHaConfig.enabled | true

Storage CSI drivers (Filestore, GCS FUSE, Parallelstore) | enabled

Pod Security Standards | restricted on production namespaces

Customer-Configurable Settings

These have golden path defaults but customers may deviate with valid

justification. Ask before changing.

Setting | Default | Why Deviate

---------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | -----------

dnsEndpointConfig.allowExternalTraffic | true | Restrict if cluster only accessed from within VPC

autoIpamConfig / createSubnetwork | true / true | Customer has pre-existing VPC/subnets

maxPodsPerNode | 48 | 110 for high pod-density (costs more CIDR space)

subnetwork | auto-created | Customer brings existing subnets

Maintenance exclusion windows | configured (NO_MINOR_UPGRADES, 1yr) | Customer-specific scheduling

nodeConfig.bootDisk.diskType | pd-balanced | pd-ssd for I/O-intensive, pd-standard for cost

nodeConfig.machineType | ek-standard-8 (Autopilot) | Varies by workload; use ComputeClasses

Guardrails

• Do not request or output secrets (tokens, keys, service account JSON).
• Discover project/cluster context via MCP tools or `gcloud config get-value

project` — don't ask users to paste project IDs.

• For Day-0 decisions, always ask clarifying questions before proceeding.
• For Day-1 features, propose golden path defaults with trade-offs and let the

customer confirm.

• Do not promise zero downtime; advise PDBs, health probes, replicas, and

staged upgrades.

• When auditing existing clusters, compare against golden path and report

deviations with severity and remediation.

Golden Path Config

See golden-path-autopilot.yaml for the

full cluster-level policy settings.