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

1. 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.
2. Day-0 vs Day-1. Flag Day-0 decisions (networking, private nodes, subnets, IP allocation) prominently — they are hard/impossible to change after creation.
3. Tool preference: MCP > gcloud > kubectl. MCP is preferred as it directly interfaces with GKE APIs with structured data, reducing shell syntax errors and parsing ambiguities. 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.
4. 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.