CNCF / Linux Foundation
Certified Kubernetes Administrator
Run and repair a cluster under time pressure.
- Exam code
- CKA
- Duration
- 2 hours
- Pass mark
- 66%
- Valid for
- 2 years
- Typical preparation
- 8 to 12 weeks
- Retake
- One free retake included with the exam
What the exam actually is
The CKA is entirely hands-on. You are dropped into live clusters and asked to fix, configure and inspect them from a terminal. Nothing is multiple choice, and nothing rewards memorised trivia: the exam rewards people who are fast in kubectl and calm when a node goes NotReady.
Who it is for
- Engineers already running workloads on Kubernetes who need the credential to prove it
- Sysadmins and SREs moving from VM-centric operations to container platforms
- Consultants who need a partner-recognised badge for CNCF and Kubernetes work
Prerequisites
None formally. In practice you need a working Linux command line, comfort with YAML, and enough networking to reason about a service that does not resolve.
Where candidates lose points
- Troubleshooting is 30% of the exam, more than any other domain, and it is where most failures happen
- Time management beats knowledge: candidates who know the material still run out of clock
- etcd backup and restore, and a full kubeadm upgrade, are near-certain questions
- Learning to navigate the allowed documentation quickly is a skill in itself
Why it is worth doing
It is the credential hiring managers actually recognise for platform roles, and the only one on this list that proves you can operate a cluster rather than describe one.
Official CKA page — always the authority on price, format and validity.
Preparing for CKA on a deadline?
Practise against the official domain weights, and get told when a CKA discount appears instead of paying full price.