CNPE hands-on labs
Labs: PreviewCertified Cloud Native Platform Engineer: exam-style tasks on a real kubeadm cluster on your own Mac, built and graded by the GoldenKube CLI. Each card shows the domain, the cluster topology it needs, the recommended time and its points; the scenario page has the full task text. Scenarios run on Kubernetes 1.35, the version the CNPE exam environment runs.
What the CNPE bank covers
The Linux Foundation describes CNPE as "an online, proctored, performance-based test" that "requires solving multiple tasks from within a Linux-based remote desktop using the terminal and web-based interfaces". The candidate instructions say "The exams consist of 15-20 performance-based tasks" and that "The CNPE environment is currently running Kubernetes v1.35"; the general documentation allowed is kubernetes.io. The GoldenKube CNPE scenarios run on a local Kubernetes cluster and are graded from the cluster state, so a task that the exam might solve in a web interface is written so that its result can be checked in the cluster.
The scenarios are written against the five official domains: networking, storage and compute best practices, right-sizing and multi-tenancy (platform architecture and infrastructure); GitOps workflows, CI/CD pipelines and progressive delivery such as blue/green or canary (GitOps and continuous delivery); custom resource definitions, self-service provisioning, operators and automation frameworks (platform APIs and self-service capabilities); monitoring, alerting, logging and tracing, deployment metrics and incident remediation (observability and operations); and service-to-service security, RBAC, audit trails and compliance, policy engines and admission control, and security scanning in pipelines (security and policy enforcement).
The CNPE exam, from the official pages
| Questions | 15-20 performance-based tasks source |
|---|---|
| Duration (minutes) | 120 source |
| Passing score | 64% source |
| Price (USD) | 445 source |
| Validity (years) | 2 source |
| Delivery | Online, proctored, performance-based source |
| Prerequisites | None source |
| Retake policy | One retake per exam purchase if a passing score is not achieved source |
| Curriculum version | Exam environment runs Kubernetes v1.35 source |
Domain coverage
Published scenarios per official CNPE domain, next to the domain's exam weight (checked 2026-10-28 on the official page). 20 published scenarios today.
| Domain | Exam weight | Published scenarios |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Architecture and Infrastructure | 15% | 3 |
| GitOps and Continuous Delivery | 25% | 5 |
| Platform APIs and Self-Service Capabilities | 25% | 5 |
| Observability and Operations | 20% | 4 |
| Security and Policy Enforcement | 15% | 3 |
Mock exam mode
goldenkube exam cnpe draws a curriculum-weighted set: 15 tasks in 120 minutes, pass at 64%. Solutions and hints are hidden in exam mode.
Scenarios
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How a run works
- Install the CLI and Multipass, then run
goldenkube doctor. - Sign in with
goldenkube login(free account). - Start a scenario with its id; the CLI provisions a fresh cluster and prints the task.
- Solve it on the cluster, run
goldenkube submit; the result appears on your dashboard.
Grading happens on your machine and is practice feedback, not an official score. Tasks are public; hints, reference solutions and grader internals are not.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run these CNPE labs today?
Not yet. The CNPE scenarios are published and readable here, but the first signed build of the CLI is not on the Homebrew tap, so the catalog is a preview. Running a scenario needs that release and a free account.
Which tools does the CNPE exam expect?
The CNPE curriculum names tools only as examples, among them Argo, Crossplane, Flux, Gatekeeper, Kyverno, OpenTelemetry, Prometheus and Tekton, and says candidates are not tested on deep tool-specific knowledge beyond the listed competencies. Each scenario page shows the full task text, so you can see what a task asks before you run it.
Do I need CNPA before CNPE?
No. The Linux Foundation lists no prerequisite for CNPE. CNPA is the multiple-choice platform engineering exam and covers much of the same vocabulary, so its GoldenKube question bank is a useful warm-up for the CNPE labs.