Cheat Sheet · IT & Cloud

CKAD Cheat Sheet

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A free CKAD cheat sheet: the hands-on format, kubectl speed tips, key application objects and the five domains for final revision.

By The Exam Atlas Editorial Team · Verified 2026-06-05

A final-revision summary for the CKAD. Study aid only - the exam is hands-on, so practise in a real cluster.

The format

Hands-on tasks in a live terminal · two hours · 66% to pass · online-proctored · official Kubernetes docs allowed.

kubectl speed tips

TipWhy
alias k=kubectlSaves keystrokes on every command
--dry-run=client -o yamlScaffold YAML instead of writing it
kubectl create job/cronjob/configmap/secretGenerate objects fast
kubectl set image / rolloutQuick deployment changes
Set a default namespaceAvoid repeating -n

Key application objects

Pod (multi-container) · Deployment · Job / CronJob · Service · Ingress · ConfigMap · Secret · SecurityContext · ServiceAccount · NetworkPolicy · liveness/readiness probes.

Exam-day reminders

Two hours, tightly timed · configuration and security is 25% · generate objects, do not hand-write YAML · know where the docs pages are.

FAQ

What is the CKAD exam format?
Performance-based and hands-on: around 15-20 real tasks in a live cluster over two hours, online-proctored, pass mark 66%. You may use the official Kubernetes docs.

Sources