AZ-400 Configure processes and communications Practice Question
This AZ-400 practice question tests your understanding of configure processes and communications. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Your organization wants to enforce that all commits to the main branch are signed using GPG or S/MIME. Which GitHub feature should you enable?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure a branch protection rule that requires signed commits.
Option B is correct because GitHub branch protection rules include a 'Require signed commits' setting that enforces all commits pushed to the protected branch must be signed with a verified GPG or S/MIME key. This ensures commit integrity and non-repudiation directly at the repository level, without requiring external scripts or API calls.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Use the GitHub API to check commit signatures after push.
Why it's wrong here
Post-push checks are reactive, not preventive.
✓
Configure a branch protection rule that requires signed commits.
Why this is correct
This rule rejects unsigned commits.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable the 'Include administrators' setting in branch protection.
Why it's wrong here
This setting applies policies to admins but does not enforce signing.
✗
Require SSH key authentication for all users.
Why it's wrong here
SSH keys authenticate users but do not sign commits.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse authentication (SSH keys) with commit signing (GPG/S/MIME), or assume that post-push API checks are equivalent to pre-merge enforcement.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, GitHub verifies that each commit's GPG signature matches a key uploaded to the user's GitHub account, and that the commit author matches the key's identity. The 'Require signed commits' rule uses the same verification logic as the green 'Verified' badge, but enforces it as a pre-merge gate. In a real-world scenario, this prevents a compromised developer account from pushing malicious code without a valid signature, even if the user has write access.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-400 question in full detail.
Configure processes and communications — This question tests Configure processes and communications — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure a branch protection rule that requires signed commits. — Option B is correct because GitHub branch protection rules include a 'Require signed commits' setting that enforces all commits pushed to the protected branch must be signed with a verified GPG or S/MIME key. This ensures commit integrity and non-repudiation directly at the repository level, without requiring external scripts or API calls.
What should I do if I get this AZ-400 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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