About this free CKAD mock exam

Two free CKAD exams, 30 questions each. Covers app design, deployment, configuration, security, and networking. Every question is written in the scenario style of the real Certified Kubernetes Application Developer exam, and the two 30-question sets are graded instantly with a detailed explanation for each answer.

Preparing for the real certification? Our live Kubernetes Training — CKA & CKAD course covers every domain below with hands-on labs, or browse all 12 free mock exams in the Certification Vault.

CKAD exam domains covered

  • Application Environment, Configuration and Security25%
  • Application Design and Build20%
  • Application Deployment20%
  • Services and Networking20%
  • Application Observability and Maintenance15%

CKAD — Frequently Asked Questions

How many questions are on the real CKAD exam?

The CKAD exam has 15–20 hands-on performance-based tasks completed over 2 hours in a live Kubernetes cluster. There are no multiple-choice questions — every task requires you to create, modify, or troubleshoot real Kubernetes resources using kubectl and YAML. The passing score is 66% of available points.

What is the difference between CKAD and CKA?

CKAD focuses on application development workflows: writing Deployments, ConfigMaps, Secrets, Jobs, Services, Ingress, NetworkPolicies, and probes — the tasks a developer performs when deploying applications to Kubernetes. CKA focuses on cluster administration: cluster setup with kubeadm, etcd backup and restore, node management, RBAC, storage provisioning, and troubleshooting cluster-level failures.

What Kubernetes resources are most heavily tested on the CKAD?

Focus on: Pods with init containers and multi-container patterns (sidecar, adapter, ambassador), Deployments with rolling updates and rollbacks, ConfigMaps and Secrets (env vars and volume mounts), SecurityContext (runAsUser, runAsNonRoot, readOnlyRootFilesystem, allowPrivilegeEscalation), Jobs and CronJobs, Services (ClusterIP, NodePort), Ingress, NetworkPolicy, resource requests/limits, and health probes (liveness, readiness, startup).

Is kubectl allowed during the CKAD exam?

Yes — the CKAD is an open-book, hands-on exam. You have access to the Kubernetes documentation at docs.kubernetes.io and kubectl with tab completion in the exam environment. Setting up kubectl aliases (alias k=kubectl) and using --dry-run=client -o yaml to generate manifests quickly are essential exam techniques.

How is this mock exam different from the real CKAD?

Our mock has 30 scenario-based multiple-choice questions per attempt (60 total across 2 exams) with a 60-minute timer. The real CKAD has 15–20 hands-on performance tasks over 2 hours in a live cluster. The mock tests conceptual and diagnostic knowledge of CKAD domains; the real exam tests hands-on execution. Use both together: understand concepts here, then practise kubectl tasks in a local cluster or killer.sh.