CNCF / Linux Foundation
Certified Kubernetes Application Developer
Ship applications onto Kubernetes, quickly and correctly.
- Exam code
- CKAD
- Duration
- 2 hours
- Pass mark
- 66%
- Valid for
- 2 years
- Typical preparation
- 6 to 10 weeks
- Retake
- One free retake included with the exam
What the exam actually is
The CKAD covers the same platform as the CKA from the other side of the fence: defining, deploying and observing workloads rather than operating the cluster underneath them. It is shorter on infrastructure and much longer on speed. Two hours, a lot of tasks.
Who it is for
- Developers whose applications now run on Kubernetes
- DevOps engineers who write manifests and Helm charts daily
- CKA holders wanting the developer-side credential to complete the pair
Prerequisites
None. Prior experience with containers and a CI pipeline makes the material land much faster.
Where candidates lose points
- Raw speed matters more here than on any other exam on this list
- Imperative kubectl with --dry-run=client -o yaml is the single highest-return habit
- Probes, resource limits and multi-container patterns appear constantly
- Practising with vim configured for YAML saves minutes you will need
Why it is worth doing
It is the fastest credible signal that a developer can be trusted with production manifests instead of handing YAML to someone else.
Official CKAD page — always the authority on price, format and validity.
Preparing for CKAD on a deadline?
Practise against the official domain weights, and get told when a CKAD discount appears instead of paying full price.