Golden path
A golden path is the supported, opinionated default way to build, deploy and run a common kind of software inside a company, such as a Go API or a batch job. It comes as a template with CI, security checks and observability already wired in. Teams may leave the path, but then they own the result.
How it works
A platform team picks the stack most teams need and makes it the easiest choice. A new service on the golden path might come with:
A repo created from a template, with a Dockerfile and a Helm chart.
A CI pipeline that builds, scans and pushes the image.
Default dashboards, alerts and a service level objective.
If that takes 15 minutes on the path and two weeks off it, most teams will choose the path without being told.
Why it matters in production
Fewer stacks means fewer ways to break. When a base image needs a patch, the platform team fixes the template once and every service on the path picks it up. The path only works if it stays current, so it needs an owner.
See also
On the One2N blog
Further reading
