CNCF certification practice
Practise Certified Kubernetes Application Developer CKAD practice test — original exam-style scenarios covering every exam domain, with detailed explanations, wrong-answer analysis, and common exam traps. Courseiva helps you prepare with realistic practice questions, topic-based revision, explained answers and structured study routes.
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Key facts for the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer CKAD exam.
Exam cost
$395 USD / ~£315
Duration
2 hours
Question count
15–20 performance-based tasks
Passing score
66%
Validity
3 years
Delivered by
The Linux Foundation (PSI Online)
Online proctored
Yes — available
Retake policy
100% free — no account required
Everything on Courseiva for CKAD is free — no subscription, no trial, no email wall.
Courseiva provides free Certified Kubernetes Application Developer CKAD (CKAD) practice questions with original exam-style questions, detailed explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics. Courseiva is an independent platform and is not affiliated with CNCF.
One free retake included; subsequent retakes require repurchase
Question formats
The Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) is a performance-based certification from the CNCF and The Linux Foundation aimed at developers who build and run applications on Kubernetes. Unlike the CKA, the CKAD focuses on the application lifecycle — designing multi-container pods, configuring resource limits, setting up health probes, managing ConfigMaps and Secrets, and working with services and ingress. Candidates complete real tasks in a live Kubernetes cluster during the exam. Passing the CKAD signals that you can take a containerised application from code to a running, observable workload on Kubernetes.
Official prerequisite
None — no formal prerequisites
Recommended experience
Familiarity with containerisation (Docker), basic Linux command line, and 3–6 months of experience writing Kubernetes YAML manifests
Developers who package and deploy applications to Kubernetes and want a vendor-neutral credential that proves application-layer Kubernetes skills
Should you skip this exam?
Infrastructure engineers primarily concerned with cluster provisioning and node management — consider the CKA instead
Courseiva study tip
Speed is the key challenge — practice generating resource manifests quickly with `kubectl run --dry-run=client -o yaml` and learn to use `kubectl explain` without leaving the terminal.
UK salary range
£55,000 – £85,000
US salary range
$100,000 – $150,000
Job roles that cite CKAD
What certification to take next
The CKAD costs $395 USD and includes one free retake. Linux Foundation discount codes (20–30% off) are regularly available during promotions.
You need 66% or higher to pass the CKAD. Results are typically emailed within 24 hours of your exam session.
The CKAD has 15–20 performance-based tasks. Each task is independently weighted, so completing harder tasks correctly gives more credit.
The CKAD covers application design and build (~20%), application deployment (~20%), application observability and maintenance (~15%), application environment, configuration, and security (~25%), and services and networking (~20%). All tasks are completed in a live cluster.
Most candidates find the CKAD slightly more approachable than the CKA because it focuses on application concerns rather than deep cluster administration. However, the time pressure is significant — the breadth of tasks in two hours requires fast, accurate kubectl usage.
The CKAD is valid for 3 years. You renew by passing the exam again before expiry.
If you are a developer who deploys to Kubernetes without managing the cluster, start with the CKAD. If you manage cluster infrastructure, start with the CKA. Many engineers pursue both, and the skills overlap significantly.
See how CKAD stacks up against related certifications.
Practice modes
Choose a mode that matches your current study phase. Use topic practice early on and mock exams closer to your exam date.
All CKAD Questions
Browse the full question bank organised by domain and difficulty.
Practice Test
Start a session with detailed answer explanations after each question.
Mock Exam
Simulate the real exam with a timed, full-length question set.
Quick 10
A 10-question warm-up — ideal for a short daily study session.
Flashcards
Reinforce key terms, commands, and protocol facts with flashcards.
Domain Practice
Focus exclusively on one exam domain to target your weakest area.
50-Question Set
Mid-length practice set covering all domains.
Full-length Simulation
Full exam simulation matching the real question count.
Exam guide
Start with a short practice session, review each missed answer, then return to the topics that caused mistakes.
Certified Kubernetes Application Developer CKAD questions test whether you can apply the concept in context, not just recognise a definition.
How the topic appears in realistic exam-style scenarios.
Which detail in the question changes the correct answer.
How to eliminate plausible but wrong options.
How to connect the question back to the wider exam objective.
Related practice questions
Use these internal links to move from the exam guide into focused topic practice pages.
Practise CKAD questions linked to Application Design and Build.
Practise CKAD questions linked to Application Deployment.
Practise CKAD questions linked to Application Environment, Configuration and Security.
Practise CKAD questions linked to Application Observability and Maintenance.
Practise CKAD questions linked to Services and Networking.
Practise CKAD questions linked to CKAD fundamentals.
Practise CKAD questions linked to CKAD scenario.
Practise CKAD questions linked to CKAD troubleshooting.
Practice directory
Every practice set is a unique selection of questions — numbered tests, domain-focused sessions, and topic-specific quizzes.
Showing 30 of 64 tests. See all 64 CKAD practice tests →
Timed mode
Official blueprint
Target weak areas by practising questions from a single domain. Each domain page shows all questions, difficulty breakdown, and a focused practice session.
Practise CKAD questions in this domain →
Practise CKAD questions in this domain →
Practise CKAD questions in this domain →
Practise CKAD questions in this domain →
Practise CKAD questions in this domain →
Term reference
These terms appear frequently in CKAD questions. Understanding them precisely reduces guessing and improves scores.
Pod Security Context
A Pod Security Context defines privilege and access control settings for a Pod or its containers in Kubernetes, such as which user ID to run as or which Linux capabilities to allow.
Init Containers
Init Containers are specialized containers that run and complete before the main containers in a Kubernetes Pod start, used for setup tasks like initializing data or waiting for dependencies.
Sidecar Containers
A sidecar container is a secondary container that runs alongside a primary application container in the same Kubernetes pod, providing supporting functionality without altering the main application.
Resource Requests and Limits
Resource Requests and Limits are Kubernetes settings that tell the system how much CPU and memory a container needs and how much it is allowed to use at most.
Liveness Probes
A liveness probe is a Kubernetes health check that tells the system whether a container is running properly and should be kept alive or restarted.
Readiness Probes
A Kubernetes mechanism that checks if a container is ready to start accepting traffic and serve requests.
Startup Probes
A Kubernetes mechanism that checks whether an application inside a container has started successfully, and delays other health checks until it is ready.
Environment Variables in Pods
Environment variables in pods are key-value pairs that pass configuration data into containerized applications running in Kubernetes, letting the app read settings without hardcoding them.
Free study guide
The Courseiva CKAD study guide covers exam format, the official domain blueprint with weights, a structured study plan, and domain-specific tips for each section. Use it alongside practice questions to build both conceptual depth and exam confidence.
Sample questions
Select your answer before revealing the explanation. These questions are original exam-style — not copied from any exam or dump site.
Drag a concept onto its matching description — or click a concept then click the description.
Virtual cluster for resource isolation
Runs one pod per node for system services
Runs a pod to completion; for batch processing
Automatically scales pods based on CPU/memory
Controls traffic flow between pods
Drag steps to the numbered slots on the right, or tap a step then tap a slot.
Trap 1: kubectl describe node
Shows node conditions, not pod storage errors.
Trap 2: kubectl get pvc
Shows PVC status, but not binding to pod.
Trap 3: kubectl get storageclass
Lists storage classes, but not pod issue.
kubectl describe node
Why wrong: Shows node conditions, not pod storage errors.
kubectl get pvc
Why wrong: Shows PVC status, but not binding to pod.
kubectl get storageclass
Why wrong: Lists storage classes, but not pod issue.
kubectl describe pod <pod>
Shows events like 'FailedMount' indicating missing storage class.
Trap 1: Set maxUnavailable=1
Allows one pod to be unavailable, possibly causing capacity drop.
Trap 2: Use Recreate strategy
Recreate terminates all pods before creating new ones.
Trap 3: Set maxSurge=0
No extra pods allowed; may cause downtime if maxUnavailable>0.
Set maxSurge=1
Allows one extra pod to be created first.
Set maxUnavailable=1
Why wrong: Allows one pod to be unavailable, possibly causing capacity drop.
Use Recreate strategy
Why wrong: Recreate terminates all pods before creating new ones.
Set maxUnavailable=0
Ensures no pods are unavailable during update.
Set maxSurge=0
Why wrong: No extra pods allowed; may cause downtime if maxUnavailable>0.
Trap 1: ConfigMap updates are not propagated to mounted volumes.
Updates are propagated, but not instantly.
Trap 2: The pods must be recreated after a ConfigMap update to see the…
Mounted ConfigMaps are updated without pod restart, but with a delay.
Trap 3: ConfigMaps are immutable and cannot be updated.
ConfigMaps can be updated; immutability is optional.
ConfigMap updates are not propagated to mounted volumes.
Why wrong: Updates are propagated, but not instantly.
The kubelet sync interval delays the propagation of ConfigMap changes to pods.
The kubelet periodically syncs ConfigMap data; changes may take up to the sync period to appear.
The pods must be recreated after a ConfigMap update to see the changes.
Why wrong: Mounted ConfigMaps are updated without pod restart, but with a delay.
ConfigMaps are immutable and cannot be updated.
Why wrong: ConfigMaps can be updated; immutability is optional.
Trap 1: Kustomize can be used to perform canary deployments.
Kustomize does not have native canary deployment support; it is for configuration management.
Trap 2: Kustomize requires Helm to manage dependencies.
Kustomize is standalone and does not require Helm.
Trap 3: Kustomize can only be used with kubectl apply -k.
It can also be used standalone with kustomize build.
Kustomize can be used to perform canary deployments.
Why wrong: Kustomize does not have native canary deployment support; it is for configuration management.
Kustomize supports overlays that allow different configurations for different environments.
Correct. Overlays modify base configurations for different contexts.
Kustomize requires Helm to manage dependencies.
Why wrong: Kustomize is standalone and does not require Helm.
Kustomize uses a file named kustomization.yaml to define resources and customizations.
Correct. kustomization.yaml is the central file.
Kustomize can only be used with kubectl apply -k.
Why wrong: It can also be used standalone with kustomize build.
Question Discussion
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