Study materials and practice exercises for the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) exam.
- Go to START-HERE.md — choose your timeline (1 week, 2 weeks, 3-4 weeks, or cramming)
- Follow the study path for your timeline
- Work through the exercises and patterns
- Take the mock exam under timed conditions
- Review weak areas
| Directory | What You Find |
|---|---|
| patterns/ | 6 most-tested CKAD patterns with examples and verification |
| exercises/ | 14 hands-on exercises, speed drills, complex scenarios |
| mock-exams/ | Full-length practice exams (15 questions each, 2 hours) |
| troubleshooting/ | RBAC, networking, debugging, common mistakes, container basics |
| scripts/ | Setup scripts for exam environment config |
| skeletons/ | YAML templates for reference |
- START-HERE.md — Entry point with study paths
- INDEX.md — Complete navigation and quick reference
- STUDY-PATHS.md — Detailed daily schedules for each timeline
- EXAM-FEEDBACK-2026.md — Real 2026 exam feedback and what actually appeared
- KUBECTL-CHEATSHEET.md — Commands ranked by frequency
- exam-strategy.md — Time management and exam day tips
- troubleshooting/basics/COMMON-MISTAKES.md — 20 common errors to avoid
- Duration: 2 hours
- Questions: 15-20 hands-on tasks
- Passing Score: 66%
- Kubernetes Version: v1.35
- Format: Terminal-based, no multiple choice
| Timeline | Study Hours | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week | 30-40 hours | Crash course, refresher |
| 2 weeks | 50-70 hours | Standard prep |
| 3-4 weeks | 80-120 hours | Thorough learning |
| 2+ months | 150+ hours | Deep mastery |
See STUDY-PATHS.md for daily breakdowns.
- Pick a study timeline based on your available time
- Work through exercises in order — they're designed to build progressively
- Study the patterns — they appear repeatedly on the real exam
- Take the mock exam under exam conditions (2 hours, no breaks, closed book except kubernetes.io)
- Review your weak areas using the INDEX navigation links
- Repeat until you score 80%+ on the mock exam
Practical, not theoretical. Every file includes:
- Copy-paste ready kubectl commands
- Actual YAML examples you'll see on the exam
- Step-by-step verification (how to confirm your answer works)
- Common gotchas and how to avoid them
- 100+ kubectl commands (ranked by exam frequency)
- 14 complete exercises with solutions
- 1 full mock exam (15 questions with detailed answers)
- 6 core pattern guides with debugging workflows
- YAML templates for all resource types
- Exam strategy and time management guide