This guide provides a structured learning curriculum for the Google Professional Cloud Developer certification exam, covering all official domains with focused, teachable chapters.
This guide works best as a loop: read a chapter, test yourself with practice questions, look up unfamiliar terms in the glossary, then move to the next chapter.
15 chapters covering every exam objective. Each chapter includes key concepts, exam tips, common traps, comparison tables, and a 5-question quiz at the end.
Start Chapter 1Free timed and untimed practice with instant feedback and full explanations. Pick 10–120 questions per session. Filter by domain to drill your weak areas.
Go to practice testEvery PCDterm defined and searchable. Use it when a chapter mentions a concept you haven't seen before or want a quick refresher on.
Browse glossaryExam blueprint, domain weights, passing score, duration, cost, and registration links. Start here if you're new to this certification.
View exam guideCloud-Native App Design Fundamentals
Objective 2.1 · Design cloud-native applications using Google Cloud best practices.
Microservices Architecture and Decomposition
Objective 2.2 · Design microservice architectures for scalability and resilience.
Containerizing Apps with Docker and Cloud Build
Objective 1.1 · Containerize applications and automate builds using Cloud Build.
Deploying Apps on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)
Objective 1.2 · Deploy and manage containerized applications on GKE.
Serverless Deployment with Cloud Run
Objective 1.3 · Deploy serverless containers using Cloud Run and manage revisions.
Configuring Deployment Strategies and Rollbacks
Objective 1.4 · Implement rolling, blue/green, and canary deployments and rollbacks.
Application Testing and CI/CD Pipelines
Objective 3.1 · Set up automated testing and CI/CD pipelines using Cloud Build and other tools.
Building and Securing APIs
Objective 3.2 · Design, build, and secure REST and gRPC APIs on Google Cloud.
Using Cloud Storage and Databases (Cloud SQL, Firestore, Bigtable)
Objective 4.1 · Integrate applications with Cloud Storage, Cloud SQL, Firestore, and Bigtable.
Pub/Sub and Event-Driven Integration
Objective 4.2 · Integrate services using Pub/Sub for asynchronous messaging and event-driven patterns.
Connecting to Cloud APIs and Services (Cloud Functions, Cloud Tasks)
Objective 4.3 · Integrate applications with Cloud Functions, Cloud Tasks, and other Google Cloud services.
Application Security and IAM
Objective 3.3 · Implement authentication, authorization, and secure access using IAM and service accounts.
Monitoring, Logging, and Observability
Objective 3.4 · Implement monitoring, logging, and observability using Cloud Monitoring, Logging, and Trace.
Cost Management and Performance Optimization
Objective 2.3 · Optimize application cost and performance using Google Cloud tools and best practices.
Disaster Recovery and High Availability
Objective 2.4 · Design for disaster recovery and high availability using multi-region and failover strategies.
Free PCD practice questions with full explanations. Test what you learn chapter by chapter.
PCD Practice Questions