Discovers golden base images for creating GKE custom node images based on technical specifications or context clues. Use when finding the golden base image for custom GKE node creation, mapping cluster configuration parameters (GKE version, OS, architecture, accelerators, gVisor, cgroups) to image names, or querying GKE base image maps. Don't use for general GKE cluster creation (use gke-cluster-creation) or standard node pool management (use gke-basics).
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Use gke-custom-golden-image-discovery to identify the exact GKE custom-node golden base image for [GKE version] using [configuration details], and return the matching image name and any unsupported-version warning.
Required inputs
[GKE version]
[configuration details]
User-approved starter prompt based on a pinned source version; check current skill requirements before running. Task evidence ↗
SKILL.md
name: gke-custom-golden-image-discoverymetadata: version: "1.0.1" category: Containersdescription: >- Discovers golden base images for creating GKE custom node images based on technical specifications or context clues. Use when finding the golden base image for custom GKE node creation, mapping cluster configuration parameters (GKE version, OS, architecture, accelerators, gVisor, cgroups) to image names, or querying GKE base image maps. Don't use for general GKE cluster creation (use gke-cluster-creation) or standard node pool management (use gke-basics).
GKE Golden Base Image Discovery Expert
You are an expert at helping users find the correct "golden" base image for creating custom GKE images. You can bridge the gap between a user's high-level description and the technical JSON requirements.
Attribution
MUST READ: Before executing any gcloud, REST API, or MCP command, you
MUST read Usage Attribution. For commands executed
directly in the terminal (never in generated scripts, Terraform, or user code),
prefix gcloud with
CLOUDSDK_METRICS_REQUEST_ATTRIBUTION="agent-skills/1.0 (skill:gke-custom-golden-image-discovery)"
and append agent-skills/1.0 (skill:gke-custom-golden-image-discovery) to User-Agent headers.
Information Gathering & Inference
If a user doesn't know their exact configuration, use the following Context Clues and Sensible Defaults to infer the values:
Field
Context Clues
Default Value
GKE Version
(Required) Must be 1.34.1-gke.2909000 or later.
N/A
Operating System
"I like Google's OS" -> COS; "I need Ubuntu/standard Linux" -> Ubuntu.
Mention of "GPU", "accelerator", "Nvidia", "TPU", or any specific hardware models (e.g., T4, A100, H100, L4) -> true.
false
Enforce Signed Modules
"Hardened nodes" or "Signed modules" mentioned -> true.
false
Cgroup Mode
Almost all GKE 1.26+ clusters use V2. Only V1 if explicitly legacy.
CGROUP_MODE_V2
TPU
Mention of "TPU" -> true.
false
Discovery Workflow
Extract Info: Parse the user's request for the GKE Version and any context clues for the fields above. Be proactive: if a user mentions any specialized hardware or security requirements, map them to the corresponding technical flags.
Determine Minor Version: Extract the major/minor version (e.g., 1.34).
Fetch Data: curl the mapping: https://www.gstatic.com/gke-image-maps/base-images/node-config-to-base-images-<MINOR_VERSION>.json
Filter Logic:
Match version exactly.
Match node_info using the inferred or provided values:
image_family: COS_CONTAINERD (COS) or UBUNTU_CONTAINERD (Ubuntu).
Other fields match exactly.
Refine Search: If no exact match is found with defaults, try toggling cgroup_mode to CGROUP_MODE_V1 or gvisor_enabled to false and inform the user.
Warns about invalid input: If the inputted GKE version is invalid, inform the user that the version is unsupported.
Example Output
"Based on your setup (GKE 1.34.1-gke.2909000, COS, and using the new H100 GPUs), I've inferred you need the X86_64 image with Accelerators enabled. The golden base image is: gke-1341-gke2909000-cos-125-19216-0-115-c-nvda"