Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)
Design, build, deploy, configure, secure, expose and troubleshoot applications on Kubernetes with kubectl. Lessons, exam-style practice, timed mocks and an AI tutor, mapped to every objective of the official exam guide.
Free Included · 7-day free trial
The exam
- Format
- About 15–20 hands-on tasks in a terminal
- Time
- 120 minutes
- Passing score
- 66% or above
- Exam fee
- USD 445 (exam only; bundles with THRIVE-ONE or the LFD259 course cost more), per the Linux Foundation page in November 2026
- Valid for
- 2 years; renew by retaking and passing the current exam before it expires (CKAD earned before April 1, 2024 is valid for 3 years). One free retake is included and the exam must be taken within 12 months of purchase
- Delivery
- Online, proctored, performance-based: tasks solved at a command line on live Kubernetes clusters
Official exam page · booked with CNCF
Every section of the exam guide
5 sections and 24 objectives, in the official weights. Each lesson is mapped to the objectives it covers.
Section 1 · Application Design and Build20%
What the exam asks
- Define, build and modify container images
- Choose and use the right workload resource (Deployment, DaemonSet, CronJob, etc.)
- Understand multi-container Pod design patterns (e.g. sidecar, init and others)
- Utilize persistent and ephemeral volumes
Lessons
- Container Images: Define, Build and Modify
- Choosing the Right Workload Resource
- Multi-Container Pod Patterns: Init, Sidecar and More
- Ephemeral and Persistent Volumes
Section 2 · Application Deployment20%
What the exam asks
- Use Kubernetes primitives to implement common deployment strategies (e.g. blue/green or canary)
- Understand Deployments and how to perform rolling updates
- Use the Helm package manager to deploy existing packages
- Kustomize
Lessons
- Deployment Strategies: Recreate, Blue/Green and Canary
- Deployments and Rolling Updates
- Deploying Packages with Helm
- Customizing Manifests with Kustomize
Section 3 · Application Observability and Maintenance15%
What the exam asks
- Understand API depreciations
- Implement probes and health checks
- Use built-in CLI tools to monitor Kubernetes applications
- Utilize container logs
- Debugging in Kubernetes
Lessons
- API Versions and Deprecations
- Liveness, Readiness and Startup Probes
- Monitoring with kubectl and Reading Container Logs
- Debugging Applications in Kubernetes
Section 4 · Application Environment, Configuration and Security25%
What the exam asks
- Discover and use resources that extend Kubernetes (CRD, Operators)
- Understand authentication, authorization and admission control
- Understand requests, limits, quotas
- Define resource requirements
- Understand ConfigMaps
- Create & consume Secrets
- Understand ServiceAccounts
- Understand Application Security (SecurityContexts, Capabilities, etc.)
Lessons
- Custom Resources, CRDs and Operators
- Authentication, Authorization (RBAC) and Admission Control
- Resource Requests, Limits, Quotas and LimitRanges
- ConfigMaps and Secrets
- ServiceAccounts
- Security Contexts, Capabilities and Pod Security
Section 5 · Services and Networking20%
What the exam asks
- Demonstrate basic understanding of NetworkPolicies
- Provide and troubleshoot access to applications via services
- Use Ingress rules to expose applications
Lessons
- NetworkPolicies
- Services and Troubleshooting Access
- Ingress: Exposing HTTP Applications
14-Day Standard Plan
The default path for developers who know Linux and have used kubectl before. It covers all 21 lessons and all 10 labs in order, with a section drill after each section and daily flashcards. Mock Exams 1 and 2 come on days 13 and 14, with Mocks 3 and 4 as optional extra practice. The practice exams are multiple-choice, so also use the labs and your two killer.sh sessions for the real, timed, terminal experience. Section 4 (Environment, Configuration and Security) is worth 25% and gets the most days. Schedule the real exam once you reach 80% on the mocks and finish a killer.sh session with time to spare. About 1–2 hours a day.
- Day 1Kick-off: the exam format and container images
- Day 2Workload resources: Deployment, StatefulSet, DaemonSet, Job, CronJob
- Day 3Multi-container Pods and volumes, then the c1 drill
- Day 4Deployment strategies and rolling updates
- Day 5Helm and Kustomize, then the c2 drill
- Day 6API deprecations and probes
- Day 7Monitoring, logs and debugging, then the c3 drill
- … and 7 more days, with mock exams at the end
Sample questions
Written for practice in the style of the real exam: never questions from the real exam.
Sample question 1
A team wants exactly 10% of requests to go to version 2 while the stable version runs 3 replicas, without running dozens of Pods. Which approach fits, as of Kubernetes in November 2026?
- AAdd
traffic-percent: 10as a label on the canary Pods and let the Service read it - BA Gateway API HTTPRoute with backendRefs weighted 90 and 10
- CSet
maxSurge: 10%on the canary Deployment and keep the stable Deployment at 3 replicas - DRely on the ingress-nginx canary annotations for new designs
Show the answer
B. Pod-ratio canaries cannot give exact percentages with few Pods. Gateway API routes can weight each backend, and weights are a standard feature of HTTPRoute backendRefs.
Sample question 2
A NetworkPolicy has policyTypes omitted and contains only an ingress section selecting the app=web Pods. What is the effect on egress traffic from those Pods?
- AAll egress is denied, because policyTypes defaults to both directions
- BEgress is limited to the namespace, because the policy selects Pods there
- CThe API server rejects the policy until policyTypes is set
- DNone: the Pods remain non-isolated for egress because no egress rules exist
Show the answer
D. If policyTypes is not given, Ingress is always set and Egress is set only if egress rules exist. A policy with ingress rules alone leaves outgoing traffic untouched.
About this exam
Is the CKAD multiple-choice?
No. The real exam is performance-based: you solve about 15 to 20 tasks in a terminal on live clusters in 2 hours. This course's mock exams are multiple-choice because the site grades them automatically, so use the labs and killer.sh for terminal practice.
What is the passing score?
66%. Tasks are weighted and most give partial credit, so finish what scores rather than polishing one task.
Which documentation can I use?
kubernetes.io/docs, kubernetes.io/blog and helm.sh/docs, plus the pages linked in the task. You can use kubernetes.io's own search but must not open external search results. The Gateway API docs are for the CKA only.
Which Kubernetes version does the exam use?
v1.37 as of November 2026. The Linux Foundation updates the exam environment to each new minor version roughly 4 to 8 weeks after its release, so check the Linux Foundation page before your date.
How much does it cost and what is included?
USD 445 for the exam only. It includes one free retake, two killer.sh simulator sessions, and a 12-month window to take the exam.
What is killer.sh and should I use it?
A simulator with 17 graded tasks per session, 36 hours of access each, and two sessions. It is deliberately harder than the real exam. Do the first after finishing the labs, and the second as a timed run in the last week.
How long is the certification valid?
2 years. Renew by passing the current exam. A CKAD earned before April 1, 2024 stays valid for 3 years.
Do I need the CKA or other prerequisites first?
No. There are no prerequisites. Kubernetes and Linux command-line experience are recommended.
Is Helm tested?
Yes. The curriculum lists the Helm package manager (deploy existing packages), and helm.sh/docs is allowed. Expect to add a repo, install, upgrade, roll back and uninstall, always with the right namespace. Kustomize is also tested.
Do I need to write YAML from memory?
No, but you need to be fast. Generate with --dry-run=client -o yaml, use kubectl explain, and copy from the docs for probes, volumes, NetworkPolicy and Ingress. Memorise the shapes of the things you use most.
See where you stand in 8 minutes
Ten questions from this course, weighted like the real exam, with your score by section and a rough chance of passing.