Certified Kubernetes Administrator
Free course · Updated for Kubernetes v1.37
Pass the CKA exam by actually doing it
The Certified Kubernetes Administrator exam is a terminal and a clock. So is this course: short lessons, then real tasks on your own cluster, checked by a script the way the exam checks them.
- 44 lessons
- 141 graded tasks
- 3 timed mock exams
- 28+ h of hands-on study
Your exam readiness
Tasks you passed, weighted like the exam
0%
- Troubleshooting · 30% of exam0/23
- Architecture · 25% of exam0/30
- Networking · 20% of exam0/14
- Workloads · 15% of exam0/24
- Storage · 10% of exam0/10
How every lesson works
Reading is the warm-up. The tasks are where you learn, and where your readiness score comes from.
- Step 1
Read a short lesson
Focused on the exam: what the grader checks, which doc page to open, where people lose time.
- Step 2
Set up the scenario
One command builds the task on your lab, broken where the task needs it broken.
- Step 3
Solve it yourself
In your terminal with kubectl and the docs, the same tools you get on exam day.
- Step 4
Check your work
A script grades the end state like the real grader. Each pass raises your readiness.
The exam at a glance
Performance-based and proctored online. No multiple choice: each question names a host to ssh into, and the grader checks what you leave behind.
2 hours
to finish
15–20 tasks
hands-on tasks
66%
to pass
1 retake
included · valid 2 years
Weight of each domain
- 30%Troubleshooting
- 25%Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration
- 20%Services & Networking
- 15%Workloads & Scheduling
- 10%Storage
Allowed during the exam: kubernetes.io/docs, kubernetes.io/blog, helm.sh/docs and gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io, in the Firefox window inside the exam desktop. Results arrive by email within 24 hours. Official exam page
Set up your lab in one command
A real three-node cluster on your laptop, with everything the tasks need. Free, and you can reset it in a few minutes.
- 1
Install Docker, kind and kubectl
The lab lesson has steps for macOS, Linux and Windows.
- 2
Build the lab
curl -fsSL https://codewithmuh.com/labs/cka/lab-up.sh | bash - 3
Check it is healthy
curl -fsSL https://codewithmuh.com/labs/cka/lab-check.sh | bash - Read any script before you run it; they are short and live at /labs/cka/. To start over between mock exams, run lab-reset.sh the same way.
Curriculum
Seven modules mapped to the official CNCF curriculum. Every competency on the exam has at least one lesson and one graded task.
0Start hereHow the exam is graded, how to build the lab this course runs on, and the kubectl habits that save minutes on every task.4 lessons8 tasksabout 2 h
1Cluster architecture, installation & configuration25% of examControl plane anatomy, kubeadm clusters and their lifecycle, etcd backups, RBAC, Helm, Kustomize, CRDs and the extension interfaces.11 lessons24 tasksabout 7 h
- 1.1Control plane and node components35m0/2
- 1.2Installing a cluster with kubeadm45m0/3
- 1.3Upgrading clusters and draining nodes40m0/2
- 1.4etcd backup and restore40m0/2
- 1.5Highly available control planes35m0/2
- 1.6Certificates, kubeconfig and the CSR API45m0/2
- 1.7RBAC: roles, bindings and service accounts40m0/3
- 1.8Helm: install, upgrade, roll back40m0/2
- 1.9Kustomize: bases, overlays and patches35m0/2
- 1.10CRDs and operators35m0/2
- 1.11CNI, CSI and CRI35m0/2
2Workloads & scheduling15% of examPods and multi-container patterns, Deployments and rollouts, configuration, resources, scheduling constraints, controllers, probes, autoscaling and admission.9 lessons22 tasksabout 6 h
- 2.1Pods, init containers and sidecars35m0/2
- 2.2Deployments, rolling updates and rollbacks35m0/2
- 2.3ConfigMaps and Secrets40m0/2
- 2.4Requests, limits, LimitRange and ResourceQuota40m0/2
- 2.5Scheduling: selectors, affinity, taints and spread45m0/3
- 2.6DaemonSets, Jobs and CronJobs40m0/3
- 2.7Probes, restart policies and disruption budgets40m0/3
- 2.8Autoscaling with the HPA35m0/2
- 2.9Pod admission, Pod Security and priority40m0/3
3Services & networking20% of examThe pod network model and CNI, every Service type, CoreDNS, Ingress, the Gateway API and NetworkPolicies that actually enforce.6 lessons14 tasksabout 4 h
4Storage10% of examVolume types, PersistentVolumes and claims, access modes and reclaim policies, StorageClasses and dynamic provisioning.4 lessons10 tasksabout 2 h
5Troubleshooting30% of examThe largest domain. A repeatable method, then broken applications, control planes, nodes, services and DNS, logs, metrics and debug containers.8 lessons23 tasksabout 5 h
- 5.1A troubleshooting method you can run under pressure35m0/2
- 5.2Application failures45m0/4
- 5.3Control plane failures40m0/3
- 5.4Worker node failures40m0/3
- 5.5Service and DNS failures40m0/3
- 5.6Logs, events and container output streams40m0/3
- 5.7Monitoring resource usage35m0/3
- 5.8kubectl debug, ephemeral containers and crictl35m0/2
6Exam preparationA lightning lab, two full-length mock exams, the cheat sheet and the final checklist.2 lessonsabout 1 h
Timed mock exams
Full-length, mixed-domain and weighted like the real exam. One command sets up every question and one command grades them.
Lightning lab
Six short tasks, one per domain plus an extra troubleshooting one, in 30 minutes: a fast confidence check before the full mocks.
30 min · 6 tasks · pass 66%
Mock exam 1
Seventeen tasks across all five domains in two hours, weighted like the real curriculum, with one node-maintenance task that is disruptive.
120 min · 17 tasks · pass 66%
Mock exam 2
A second full-length rehearsal with new scenarios: certificates for a user, Helm upgrades, generators, egress policies, canary routes, broken claims and a drain that a disruption budget blocks.
120 min · 17 tasks · pass 66%
Questions
Is it really free?
Yes. Every lesson, task and mock exam is free, and so is the lab. You only pay the Linux Foundation for the exam itself.
Do I need a cloud account?
No. The lab is a kind cluster that runs in Docker on your laptop with about 4 GB of free memory. Only the cluster upgrade lessons need real VMs, and those lessons show you how to create them.
How is this different from a video course?
You spend most of your time in a terminal instead of watching. Every lesson ends in exam-style tasks, and a script checks your result the way the real grader does. You always know what you can do, not just what you have seen.
How do I know I am ready?
Your readiness score counts the tasks you passed, weighted by each domain's share of the exam. Aim for 80% or more, then pass two timed mock exams in a row.
What score do I need to pass the CKA exam?
66%. The exam gives you 2 hours for 15–20 tasks, each weighted, on real clusters. Results arrive by email within 24 hours, and the exam includes 1 retake if you do not pass the first time.
How long is the CKA certification valid?
2 years from the day you pass. After you buy the exam you have 12 months to schedule and take it, retake included.
Which Kubernetes version does it cover?
The exam currently runs Kubernetes v1.37, and the course follows the current CNCF curriculum, including the Gateway API, Helm and Kustomize.
Independent course by Muhammad Rashid. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Linux Foundation or the CNCF. CKA, Certified Kubernetes Administrator, Kubernetes and the Kubernetes logo are their trademarks.