VA-003 Assess Vault tokens Practice Question
A Vault user wants to check the capabilities of their token on a specific path. Which command should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
HashiCorp often tests the distinction between commands that inspect token metadata (`vault token lookup`) versus commands that evaluate policy-based permissions on a specific path (`vault token capabilities`), and candidates may confuse `vault policy capabilities` (which does not exist) with the correct command.
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
✓
vault token capabilities <path>
The `vault token capabilities` command is specifically designed to check what operations (e.g., read, create, update, delete, list) a given token is allowed to perform on a particular path. It evaluates the token's attached policies against the path and returns the effective capabilities, making it the correct tool for this task.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
vault token list
Why it's wrong here
This lists token accessors, not capabilities.
- ✓
vault token capabilities <path>
Why this is correct
This shows what actions the current token can perform on the path.
- ✗
vault policy capabilities <policy_name> <path>
Why it's wrong here
This checks policy capabilities, not token capabilities.
- ✗
vault token lookup <token>
Why it's wrong here
This shows token metadata, not capabilities.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This VA-003 practice question is part of Courseiva's free HashiCorp 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 VA-003 exam.