Free course · Certified Kubernetes Administrator · v1.37

Pass the CKA by doing it.

The exam is a terminal and a clock, so this course is too. Every lesson ends in tasks phrased like the real thing. You run them on your own cluster and a script grades them like the real thing.
Start the course Build your lab
lessons
39
graded tasks
90
timed mock exams
0
of reading and labs
24 h

  1. 01

    Read

    Short, exam-focused lessons. What the grader checks, which doc page to open, where people lose time.

  2. 02

    Set up

    One curl command builds the scenario on your lab, broken where the task needs it broken.

  3. 03

    Solve

    In your terminal, with kubectl and the docs. The same constraints you will have on exam day.

  4. 04

    Verify

    A script checks the end state, like the real grader. Passing moves your readiness score.

01Readiness

Know where you stand, by domain.

Troubleshooting is 30% of the exam, so a task there moves the score twice as much as a storage task. Aim for 80% or more before your first mock.

0%

Exam readiness. Each domain counts by its exam weight, and only tasks you ran and verified on your lab move it.

0 of 90 tasks passed · saved in this browser. Sign in from the menu to keep it across devices.

  • 30%Troubleshooting0/21 tasks · 0%
  • 25%Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration0/30 tasks · 0%
  • 20%Services & Networking0/10 tasks · 0%
  • 15%Workloads & Scheduling0/19 tasks · 0%
  • 10%Storage0/10 tasks · 0%
02The exam

A terminal, a clock, and the docs.

Performance-based and proctored. No multiple choice. Every question names the host to ssh into, and the grader only looks at what you leave behind.

fig. 01the exam environment
YOUR SCREEN · PSI SECURE BROWSERProctorwebcam + screen, whole examRemote Linux desktopterminal · VSCodiumFirefox: docs onlykubernetes.io · helm · gateway-api2 h · 15–20 tasks66% to pass · v1.37timer never pausesBASE HOSTbaseno tools hereinfobox says:ssh <host>exit when doneTASK HOSTS · ONE PER QUESTIONtask host Akubectl · k aliastask host Banother clustertask host …named per questionclusternodes · sshgraderreads end state, not your commandsresults by email within 24 h · one retake
Duration
2 hours
Tasks
15–20 tasks
Pass mark
66%
Kubernetes
v1.37
Allowed
kubernetes.io/docs, kubernetes.io/blog, helm.sh/docs and gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io, in the Firefox window inside the exam desktop.
Results
By email within 24 hours
Retakes
1 included
Valid for
2 years

From the Linux Foundation exam page and candidate handbook. Check them for current pricing and policy changes.

03The lab

One command, a real cluster.

A three-node kind cluster on your laptop with a CNI that enforces NetworkPolicies, metrics, an ingress controller and the Gateway API. Free, and reset in two minutes.

fig. 02the course lab
KIND CLUSTER “CKA” · DOCKER ON YOUR LAPTOPcka-control-planekube-apiserveretcdkube-schedulercontroller-managercka-workerkubelet · containerdkube-proxy · calico-nodeyour podsnamespaces per lessoncka-worker2kubelet · containerdkube-proxy · calico-nodeyour podsnamespaces per lessonINSTALLED BY LAB-UP.SHCalicoNetworkPolicy enforcesmetrics-serverkubectl top worksingress-nginxlocalhost:8080Gateway API CRDsobjects validatedocker exec -it cka-control-plane bash ≈ ssh node (exam)

You need Docker, kind and kubectl. The lab lesson covers macOS, Linux and Windows. Then:

Build

curl -fsSL https://codewithmuh.com/labs/cka/lab-up.sh | bash

Check

curl -fsSL https://codewithmuh.com/labs/cka/lab-check.sh | bash

Reset between mocks

curl -fsSL https://codewithmuh.com/labs/cka/lab-reset.sh | bash

Read a script before you pipe it into bash. They are short and live at /labs/cka/. Upgrading a cluster with kubeadm needs real VMs; that lesson shows how to set them up.

04Syllabus

Mapped to the official curriculum, line by line.

Every competency in the CNCF curriculum is covered by at least one lesson and one graded task. Work through it in order, or jump to your weakest domain.

  1. 00Foundations

    Start here

    How the exam is graded, how to build the lab this course runs on, and the kubectl habits that save minutes on every task.

    4 lessons · 8 tasks · ~2.3 h

  2. 01Architecture · 25%

    Cluster architecture, installation & configuration

    Control plane anatomy, kubeadm clusters and their lifecycle, etcd backups, RBAC, Helm, Kustomize, CRDs and the extension interfaces.

    11 lessons · 24 tasks · ~7.1 h

  3. 02Workloads · 15%

    Workloads & scheduling

    Pods and multi-container patterns, Deployments and rollouts, configuration, resources, scheduling constraints, controllers, probes, autoscaling and admission.

    9 lessons · 17 tasks · ~4.6 h

  4. 03Networking · 20%

    Services & networking

    The pod network model and CNI, every Service type, CoreDNS, Ingress, the Gateway API and NetworkPolicies that actually enforce.

    6 lessons · 10 tasks · ~2.7 h

  5. 04Storage · 10%

    Storage

    Volume types, PersistentVolumes and claims, access modes and reclaim policies, StorageClasses and dynamic provisioning.

    4 lessons · 10 tasks · ~2.3 h

  6. 05Troubleshooting · 30%

    Troubleshooting

    The largest domain. A repeatable method, then broken applications, control planes, nodes, services and DNS, logs, metrics and debug containers.

    8 lessons · 21 tasks · ~4.6 h

  7. 06Exam prep

    Exam preparation

    A lightning lab, two full-length mock exams, the cheat sheet and the final checklist.

    2 lessons · 0 tasks · ~0.8 h

05Mock exams

Rehearse it against the clock.

Full-length, mixed-domain and weighted like the real exam. One command sets up every question, and one command grades them.

The mock exams are being written and validated. They will appear here.

→Stuck?

Ask in the community, or watch it done.

Post the task id and what your verify script printed. Kubernetes walkthroughs go up on the channel.

Ask the community YouTube ↗

Independent course. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Linux Foundation or the CNCF. CKA and Certified Kubernetes Administrator are their trademarks.