LFCS hands-on labs
Labs: PreviewLinux Foundation Certified System Administrator: exam-style tasks on a fresh Linux virtual machine on your own Mac, built and graded by the GoldenKube CLI. Each card shows the domain, the environment it needs, the recommended time and its points; the scenario page has the full task text. Scenarios run on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, one fresh virtual machine per task; the Linux Foundation does not name the distribution of the exam.
What the LFCS bank covers
The Linux Foundation describes LFCS as "an online, proctored, performance-based test" that "requires solving multiple issues from a command line running Linux", and the candidate instructions say "The exams consist of 17-20 performance-based tasks", each on a designated host where sudo -i gives root. The allowed resources are man pages and the documentation installed by the distribution, with no web documentation. The exam is distribution independent, so GoldenKube picked Ubuntu 24.04 LTS for the labs: every scenario starts from a fresh Ubuntu virtual machine on your Mac, with no Kubernetes on it.
The tasks follow the five official domains: kernel parameters, a crash-looping service, systemd timers and cron, a local package repository, a container run as a service and a registered virtual machine (operations deployment); bonding and bridging, static routes, chrony, OpenSSH hardening, nftables filtering and NAT, and an nginx reverse proxy and load balancer (networking); LVM, growing a volume online, NFS, swap and tmpfs, and repairing a damaged filesystem mounted by autofs (storage); Git, TLS certificates, disk space and a service limited by its file descriptors (essential commands); and users, password ageing, resource limits, ACLs and LDAP accounts through SSSD (users and groups). Disks are loop devices, and the SELinux competency is practised as configuration on an AppArmor host.
The LFCS exam, from the official pages
| Questions | 17-20 performance-based tasks source |
|---|---|
| Duration (minutes) | 120 source |
| Passing score | 67% 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 | not published by the Linux Foundation |
Domain coverage
Published scenarios per official LFCS 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Operations Deployment | 25% | 5 |
| Networking | 25% | 5 |
| Storage | 20% | 4 |
| Essential Commands | 20% | 4 |
| Users and Groups | 10% | 2 |
Mock exam mode
goldenkube exam lfcs draws a curriculum-weighted set: 17 tasks in 120 minutes, pass at 67%. 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 LFCS labs today?
Not yet. The LFCS 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 Linux distribution does the LFCS exam use?
The Linux Foundation does not name one: the LFCS page says the exam "is independent of distribution-specific tasks". GoldenKube runs the labs on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and words the tasks with tools that behave the same across distributions where it can, such as systemd, nftables, LVM and OpenSSH.
Do the LFCS labs need Kubernetes?
No. LFCS is a Linux administration exam, so each scenario gets one plain Ubuntu virtual machine, built by the same CLI that runs the Kubernetes labs. Extra disks for the storage tasks are loop devices on that machine.