KCNA Cloud Native Application Delivery Practice Question
Which TWO of the following are characteristics of Kustomize?
⚠ Common exam trap
KCNA often tests the Helm vs. Kustomize distinction — candidates incorrectly assume Kustomize uses templating or values.yaml because they conflate the two tools.
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
✓
Supports patching resources via patchesStrategicMerge
Option C is correct because Kustomize natively supports patchesStrategicMerge, a strategic merge patch mechanism that lets you modify specific fields of base Kubernetes resources without rewriting the whole manifest. Option E is correct because Kustomize's core model is bases plus overlays: a base holds common resources, and overlays apply environment-specific customizations on top of it. Option A is wrong because values.yaml is a Helm convention; Kustomize uses kustomization.yaml files instead. Option B is wrong because Kustomize is explicitly template-free and works by merging and patching YAML rather than rendering Go templates like Helm. Option D is wrong because chart dependency management is a Helm feature, not a Kustomize capability.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Requires a values.yaml file for configuration
Why it's wrong here
Kustomize configures through kustomization.yaml overlays and patches, not a values.yaml file, which is Helm's parameter-injection mechanism. A values.yaml suits supplying per-environment settings to a templated chart, so Helm is selected when centralised value overrides are needed.
- ✗
Uses a templating engine similar to Helm
Why it's wrong here
Kustomize uses overlay-based patching of plain YAML, not a templating engine; Helm's Go templates and values injection are the templating approach. Templating suits packaging parameterised charts for reuse, which is why Helm, not Kustomize, is chosen when template-driven configuration is required.
- ✓
Supports patching resources via patchesStrategicMerge
Why this is correct
Kustomize applies patchesStrategicMerge to merge partial resource definitions onto base manifests, modifying only the fields specified. This strategic merge behaviour distinguishes it from templating engines, satisfying the requirement for patching existing resources without altering the originals.
- ✗
Can manage dependencies between charts
Why it's wrong here
Kustomize has no chart-dependency mechanism; Helm manages dependencies through Chart.yaml and subcharts. Dependency management suits assembling multi-chart releases, so Helm is the choice when a deployment must pull in and version related charts as a unit.
- ✓
Uses overlays to customize base configurations
Why this is correct
Kustomize composes a base directory with overlay directories, where each overlay references the base and layers environment-specific customisations. This overlay mechanism satisfies the requirement to reuse one base configuration across multiple variants without duplicating manifests.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CNCF exam blueprint
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