Gke Basics
davila7/claude-code-templates
Plans, creates, and configures production-ready Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) clusters using the golden path Autopilot configuration.
Provides GKE golden path configuration defaults, production readiness checklists, and cluster default patterns.
Install Gke Golden Path
$ npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-golden-path -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install google/skills gke-golden-path --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/gke-golden-path .claude/skills/gke-golden-path && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "gke-golden-path" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/gke-golden-path into .claude/skills/gke-golden-path/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "gke-golden-path", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/gke-golden-pathType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-golden-path -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install google/skills gke-golden-path --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/gke-golden-path .agents/skills/gke-golden-path && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "gke-golden-path" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/gke-golden-path into .agents/skills/gke-golden-path/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "gke-golden-path", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-golden-path -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install google/skills gke-golden-path --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/gke-golden-path .cursor/skills/gke-golden-path && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "gke-golden-path" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/gke-golden-path into .cursor/skills/gke-golden-path/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "gke-golden-path", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/google/skills.git --path skills/cloud/gke-golden-path--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-golden-path -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install google/skills gke-golden-path --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/gke-golden-path .gemini/skills/gke-golden-path && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "gke-golden-path" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/gke-golden-path into .gemini/skills/gke-golden-path/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "gke-golden-path", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install google/skills gke-golden-pathInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-golden-path -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/gke-golden-path .github/skills/gke-golden-path && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "gke-golden-path" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/gke-golden-path into .github/skills/gke-golden-path/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "gke-golden-path", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-golden-path -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install google/skills gke-golden-path --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/gke-golden-path .opencode/skills/gke-golden-path && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "gke-golden-path" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/gke-golden-path into .opencode/skills/gke-golden-path/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "gke-golden-path", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
gke-golden-path- GitHub stars
- 21k
- Token cost
- ~2.1k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 806 words
- Files
- 2 (incl. assets)
- Skills in repo
- 147
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
At a glance
Provides GKE golden path configuration defaults, production readiness checklists, and cluster default patterns.
- Works in 4 steps: Default to the golden path. Use golden… → Day-0 vs Day-1. Flag Day-0 decisions… → Tool preference: MCP > gcloud > kubectl.… → …
- Designing GKE clusters
- SKILL.md covers Rules, Required Inputs, Always-Apply Defaults and Customer-Configurable Settings, plus 3 more sections
- Calls gcloud
What it does
Gke Golden Path is an agent skill from google/skills, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Provides GKE golden path configuration defaults, production readiness checklists, and cluster default patterns. Use when designing GKE clusters, verifying GKE production readiness, or checking configurations against GKE defaults. Don't use for setting up workload autoscaling specifically (use gke-workload-scaling instead).
Its SKILL.md is about 2.1k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files, including assets (for example `assets/golden-path-autopilot.yaml`).
It sits in DevOps & Cloud, covering Platform engineering. It works with Google Kubernetes Engine. The repository describes itself as: Agent Skills for Google products and technologies. The licence is Apache-2.0.
When your agent uses it
- Designing GKE clusters
- Verifying GKE production readiness
- Checking configurations against GKE defaults
- Setting up workload autoscaling specifically (use gke-workload-scaling instead)
Example prompts
- “Use the gke-golden-path skill to provide GKE golden path configuration defaults, production readiness checklists, and cluster default patterns”
- “/gke-golden-path”
Workflow steps
4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.
- Default to the golden path. Use golden path values unless the user
- Day-0 vs Day-1. Flag Day-0 decisions (networking, private nodes,
- Tool preference: MCP > gcloud > kubectl. MCP is preferred as it directly
- Document decisions and rationale, especially for Day-0 choices and
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 5120a76. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
gcloud
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use gcloud, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Gke Golden Path loads about 2.1k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 85 tokens; SKILL.md has 806 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
SKILL.md
The full file from google/skills at commit 5120a76, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© google). 806 words, ~2,139 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/gke-golden-path/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.- name
- gke-golden-path
- description
- Provides GKE golden path configuration defaults, production readiness checklists, and cluster default patterns. Use when designing GKE clusters, verifying GKE production readiness, or checking configurations against GKE defaults. Don't use for setting up workload autoscaling specifically (use gke-workload-scaling instead).
- metadata.version
- 1.1.0
- metadata.category
- Containers
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. For setting up autoscaling
specifically, use gke-cluster-autoscaler for node autoscaling or
gke-workload-scaling for workload autoscaling (HPA/VPA).
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. MCP is preferred as it directly
interfaces with GKE APIs with structured data, reducing shell syntax errors
and parsing ambiguities. See the
gke-basicsskill'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 (this golden path's choice) | Halves per-node IP consumption (/25 instead of /24). Not a GKE default (Standard defaults to 110, Autopilot to 32); raise for high pod-density at the cost of more CIDR space |
subnetwork | auto-created | Customer brings existing subnets |
| Release channel + maintenance windows | REGULAR channel with a recurring maintenance window | Add targeted maintenance exclusions (keep under ~6 months) only for critical freezes — see the gke-upgrades skill |
nodeConfig.bootDisk.diskType | pd-balanced | pd-ssd for I/O-intensive, pd-standard for cost |
Note: Autopilot selects node machine types automatically (e.g.,
ek-standard-8may appear in describe output); the machine type is not customer-configurable in Autopilot. Steer workload placement via ComputeClasses instead.
Show full SKILL.md (346 more words)Show less
Guardrails
- Do not request or output secrets (tokens, keys, service account JSON).
- Resolve project/cluster context from the conversation, MCP tools, or
gcloud config get-value project; ask the user only if it cannot be resolved. - 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 — see Upgrade Disruption below for what to advise instead.
- When auditing existing clusters, compare against golden path and report deviations with severity and remediation.
Upgrade Disruption
Never promise zero downtime for node upgrades, on any configuration. Node
upgrades cordon and drain nodes, which evicts Pods. Draining honors
PodDisruptionBudgets and terminationGracePeriodSeconds for up to one hour,
after which GKE forcefully evicts the remaining Pods so the upgrade can proceed.
A PDB narrows the window; it cannot veto the upgrade. Say so plainly rather than
implying the disruption can be eliminated.
What to recommend, all four — not a subset:
PodDisruptionBudgets with
minAvailableset so eviction cannot take the last healthy replica. A PDB that can never be satisfied stalls the drain for an hour and then loses anyway.At least 2 replicas, spread across zones with topology spread constraints. A single-replica Deployment has downtime by definition.
Readiness probes that reflect real serving health, so traffic drains before the Pod dies.
Surge upgrade settings on the node pool. Surge is the default strategy; the default is
maxSurge=1,maxUnavailable=0— one extra node is created and made ready before an old one is drained.Setting Controls Default maxSurgeAdditional nodes added per zone during the upgrade 1maxUnavailableNodes simultaneously unavailable per zone 0Nodes upgraded at once is the sum of the two, capped at 20 (Autopilot) and 100 (Standard). Multi-zone node pools upgrade one zone at a time. Raising
maxUnavailabletrades availability for speed; raisingmaxSurgetrades cost for availability.
Caveat:
externalTrafficPolicy: Localdoes not work with parallel node drains, so it constrains aggressive surge configurations.
For rollback procedures and maintenance windows, see the gke-upgrades skill.
Golden Path Config
See golden-path-autopilot.yaml for the full cluster-level policy settings.
© google, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
Files
SKILL.md and 1 other file (assets) in skills/cloud/gke-golden-path of google/skills.
- SKILL.md
- assets/golden-path-autopilot.yaml
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 5120a76
Compare with similar skills
Gke Golden Path next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gke Golden Path this skillgoogle/skills | 21k | — | ~2.1k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 | |
| Gke Basicsdavila7/claude-code-templates | 32k | — | ~1.1k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Devopsnicepkg/auto-company | 194 | 2 repos | ~814 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| KubeShark for KubernetesLukasNiessen/kubernetes-skill | 446 | — | ~1.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Kcli Cluster Deploymentkarmab/kcli | 653 | — | ~1.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 | |
| Aicr Analyzing SnapshotsNVIDIA/aicr | 440 | — | ~3.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 |
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Questions about Gke Golden Path
What does Gke Golden Path do?
Provides GKE golden path configuration defaults, production readiness checklists, and cluster default patterns. Gke Golden Path is an agent skill from google/skills, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Provides GKE golden path configuration defaults, production readiness checklists, and cluster default patterns.
When should I use Gke Golden Path?
Gke Golden Path fits situations like: designing GKE clusters; verifying GKE production readiness; checking configurations against GKE defaults; setting up workload autoscaling specifically (use gke-workload-scaling instead).
How do I install Gke Golden Path in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-golden-path -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/cloud/gke-golden-path in google/skills) into .claude/skills/gke-golden-path in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Gke Golden Path in Codex?
Run `npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-golden-path -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/cloud/gke-golden-path in google/skills) into .agents/skills/gke-golden-path in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Gke Golden Path in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-golden-path -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/gke-golden-path, .gemini/skills/gke-golden-path, .github/skills/gke-golden-path and .opencode/skills/gke-golden-path in your project.
What does Gke Golden Path need to run?
Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Gke Golden Path needs the command-line tools its instructions call (gcloud).
Does Gke Golden Path access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Gke Golden Path safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Gke Golden Path use?
Gke Golden Path is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
How many tokens does Gke Golden Path use?
About 2.1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 8.6k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.
What are the alternatives to Gke Golden Path?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Gke Golden Path: Gke Basics (davila7/claude-code-templates, 32k stars), Devops (nicepkg/auto-company, 194 stars), KubeShark for Kubernetes (LukasNiessen/kubernetes-skill, 446 stars) and Kcli Cluster Deployment (karmab/kcli, 653 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Gke Golden Path?
google (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in google/skills, which has 21,069 GitHub stars. The repository holds 147 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 9, 2026.
Source: google/skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.