CKAD Application Deployment Practice Question
You have installed a Helm chart for 'wordpress' using 'helm install my-wordpress bitnami/wordpress'. Later, you want to check the status of the release. Which command lists the status of all releases?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common pitfall is confusing commands that operate on a single release (like `helm status` or `helm history`) with the command that lists all releases (`helm list`). Candidates may also invent non-existent commands like `helm show status`.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
helm list
The `helm list` command is the correct way to list all releases in the current namespace, showing their status (deployed, failed, pending, etc.). It provides a summary of each release, including the name, revision, update time, and status. This directly answers the question of listing the status of all releases.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
helm list
Why this is correct
`helm list` is the correct command here because it enumerates every Helm release installed in the current namespace, displaying each release's name, status, chart version, app version, and revision number. It also indicates whether a release is deployed, failed, pending, or uninstalled, giving a concise overview similar to how `kubectl get pods` lists pods. Since you installed a WordPress chart via Helm, running `helm list` will confirm that the release exists and show its current lifecycle state.
- ✗
helm status my-wordpress
Why it's wrong here
`helm status my-wordpress` is incorrect because it targets a single, specifically named release rather than returning a catalog of all releases. While it provides detailed information about that one release — such as its overall status, deployed resources, manifest metadata, and any post-install notes — it cannot answer the broader question of 'which releases are installed?' To see all releases you would need multiple `helm status` calls, each with a different release name, which is inefficient and misses the purpose of the original request.
- ✗
helm history my-wordpress
Why it's wrong here
`helm history my-wordpress` is wrong because it shows the revision timeline for a particular release, not the set of installed releases. It lists each Helm upgrade or rollback for the named release, including revisions, timestamps, descriptions, and statuses like 'superseded' or 'deployed', which is useful for auditing change history but irrelevant to listing what is currently installed. The word 'history' clearly indicates time-based revision tracking, not a current-state inventory.
- ✗
helm show status
Why it's wrong here
`helm show status` is an invalid command because the `helm show` subcommand is reserved for displaying chart contents — such as values, README, chart metadata, or the entire chart — and it does not have a `status` subcommand. The correct syntax for querying a release's status is simply `helm status <release-name>`, which makes this option both syntactically wrong and conceptually misplaced. Running `helm show status` would produce a CLI error, not a list of releases.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CKAD practice question is part of Courseiva's free CNCF certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CKAD exam.