Certified Kubernetes Application Developer: the honest guide
Everything Linux Foundation / CNCF publishes about CKAD, in one place: what the exam asks, how the domains are weighted, and what it takes to be ready.
This guide page is built from the registry, not written yet.
Everything below comes from CKAD’s published exam data, and every figure links to the vendor page it came from. The researched version, with study plans and the parts nobody publishes, is still being written. This page is not submitted to search engines until it is.
Practise CKAD questions in the meantimeWhat the exam actually asks you to do
Entirely hands-on: tasks in a terminal against live clusters, open book against the Kubernetes documentation. No multiple choice at all.
- Performance-based
The highlighted formats are the ones you cannot answer from memory alone. Linux Foundation, CKAD exam details ↗
Domain breakdown and official weightings
From the official published CNCF curriculum. Application Environment, Configuration and Security is the heaviest domain at 25 percent, followed by Application Design and Build at 20 percent.
- Application Design and Build20%
- Application Deployment20%
- Application Observability and Maintenance15%
- Application Environment, Configuration and Security25%
- Services and Networking20%
What comes after passing
CKAD lasts two years. Renewal means passing the current exam again, though the Linux Foundation discounts exams heavily and often.
Where people go next
Costs across the full renewal cycle are on the CKAD cost page.
Frequently asked questions
CKAD or CKA first?
CKAD is the developer's exam: building and running applications on a cluster somebody else operates. CKA is the operator's. Take CKAD if you deploy to Kubernetes, CKA if you run it, and note the exams share the terminal-only format.
Is CKAD hands-on like CKA?
Yes, tasks in a terminal against live clusters, open book against the Kubernetes documentation, with a free retake included in registration. Speed with kubectl and generated manifests decides outcomes.
What dominates the CKAD curriculum?
Application environment, configuration and security at 25 percent: ConfigMaps, Secrets, SecurityContexts, resource requirements and ServiceAccounts. It is the domain that punishes portal-style familiarity with no YAML fluency.
Keep reading
CKAD practice questions
Free sample questions with the full explanation on every answer.
Free CKAD practice test
Ten real questions, playable now. No account, no card.
CKAD passing score
The exact cut score, what kind of number it is, and the retake terms.
How hard is CKAD?
An honest difficulty read from the format, the clock and the weights.
Practise CKAD for free while you decide
Original questions written from the published objectives, with the concept, the reasoning, and a note on every wrong option. No account needed to start.
Start free CKAD questions