Certoga

Cloud Native Computing Foundation

Certified Kubernetes Application Developer

Build, configure, expose, secure, observe, scale, and troubleshoot applications running on Kubernetes.

CKAD
17Official questions
120 minOfficial duration
66%Practice target
100Questions available

Exam coverage

Skills you will practice

  • Kubernetes application design, deployments, jobs, and workload configuration
  • ConfigMaps, Secrets, probes, security context, volumes, and scaling
  • Services, ingress, Gateway API, and application networking
  • Application debugging with logs, events, exec, and rollout controls

Practice exam

Build your session

Quick startOne click
Custom setup
Questions10
117
Timer30 min
Off120 min

Difficulty

How to use this practice bank

Start with mixed, untimed sessions to identify weak areas. Then use focused difficulty sessions and gradually increase the question count and timer until you can sustain the pace of the official exam.

2026 Exam Guide

Certified Kubernetes Application Developer Study Guide

Current exam coverage, candidate guidance, important topics, and practical preparation advice for the CKAD exam.

What Is Certified Kubernetes Application Developer?

Certified Kubernetes Application Developer is a CNCF and Linux Foundation performance-based certification for developers who build, configure, expose, and troubleshoot applications on Kubernetes. CKAD focuses on application resources rather than full cluster administration.

Candidates should understand pods, deployments, jobs, CronJobs, ConfigMaps, Secrets, probes, resource requests, security contexts, services, ingress or Gateway API concepts, volumes, rollout controls, and debugging tools. In 2026, application developers working with containers and platform teams still benefit from this practical Kubernetes credential.

Who Should Take This Exam?

CKAD is for application developers, DevOps engineers, platform users, cloud-native developers, and engineers who deploy workloads to Kubernetes.

It is best for candidates who already know container basics and can work comfortably with YAML and kubectl.

Exam Domains

Application Design and Build

Guide area

Pods, deployments, jobs, images, commands, arguments, and workload selection.

Configuration

Guide area

ConfigMaps, Secrets, environment variables, volumes, and runtime settings.

Security and Networking

Guide area

Security contexts, service accounts, services, ingress, Gateway API, and network exposure.

Observability and Troubleshooting

Guide area

Logs, events, exec, probes, rollouts, resource use, and application debugging.

Common Topics Covered

  • Pods
  • Deployments
  • Jobs
  • CronJobs
  • ConfigMaps
  • Secrets
  • Probes
  • Services
  • Ingress
  • kubectl logs

Study Tips

Practice writing manifests quickly. Know common fields for deployments, services, jobs, probes, env vars, volumes, and security contexts.

Debug failed workloads using describe, logs, events, rollout status, and exec. CKAD rewards quick diagnosis more than memorized theory.

Practice Questions Overview

Certoga's CKAD starter bank reinforces Kubernetes application concepts. Pair it with real cluster practice because the official exam is hands-on and command-line based.

CKAD Practice Exam & 2026 Study Guide | Certoga