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Everything you need to know about the CKAD certification exam, from preparation strategies to exam day tips.
120 minutes
Duration
15-20 performance tasks
Questions
66%
Passing Score
$445 USD
Exam Cost
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Speed is critical. Use kubectl run, create, expose, and set instead of writing YAML from scratch. --dry-run=client -o yaml > file.yaml saves time.
At exam start: alias k=kubectl; export do='--dry-run=client -o yaml'; source <(kubectl completion bash). These save significant time.
kubernetes.io/docs, helm.sh/docs, and github.com/kubernetes are allowed. Bookmark kubectl cheat sheet, NetworkPolicy examples, and RBAC templates before the exam.
Unlike CKA, CKAD questions tend to be more focused on application-level tasks. Expect to write YAML, apply configs, and debug running applications.
Many tasks specify a namespace. Set the namespace context first: kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=<namespace>. Missing namespaces is a common mistake.
After each task, verify with kubectl get/describe. Check pod status, env vars, volume mounts, and service endpoints. Quick verification prevents point loss.