CBA practice test
Certified Backstage Associate · free · 126 questions in the bank today
By Ibrahim Yesilay · Published · Updated
Start a free CBA practice test: Certified Backstage Associate questions with an instant verdict and explanation, an order that returns to your weakest domains, and a timed mock in the official format. The official CBA exam is 60 questions in 90 minutes with a passing score of 75%, as read from the Linux Foundation documentation on 2026-10-28.
Ten guest answers need no account; mock exams need a free one. Independent practice, not affiliated with the CNCF or the Linux Foundation.
CBA exam snapshot
Exam facts from the Linux Foundation pages, checked 2026-10-28; full table with sources on the CBA certification page.
What this CBA practice test is
This page starts a free CBA practice session on GoldenKube. The official CBA exam is 60 questions in 90 minutes with a passing score of 75%, as read from the Linux Foundation documentation on 2026-10-28. The GoldenKube CBA bank held 126 questions when this page was written; the live count is shown above. One question at a time. As soon as you answer you see whether you were right and read the explanation; reloading the page keeps the verdict on screen. The next question comes from the questions due for review first, then from the domain where you are weakest and still have unseen questions, then from the rest of the bank. Use it alongside a local Backstage app: the curriculum is written as tasks, and each question is easier once you have done the task it describes.
Every CBA question in the bank has a written explanation, so a wrong answer is always followed by the reasoning that fixes it.
What the CBA bank covers
The CBA bank follows the four official domains, with every question filed under one of them: the development workflow, the infrastructure and configuration, the software catalog, and customising the app and its plugins, which is the largest share as it is the largest domain. The table compares the official domain weights, checked against the CBA certification page on 2026-10-28, with the share of the bank each domain holds and the number of explained questions, both read from the database when the page is served. Customizing Backstage is the heaviest domain at 32%, so it deserves the largest share of your study time whatever the bank's share is.
| Official domain | Exam weight | Bank share | Questions | Explained |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backstage Development Workflow | 24% | 26% | 33 | 33 |
| Backstage Infrastructure | 22% | 21% | 27 | 27 |
| Backstage Catalog | 22% | 19% | 24 | 24 |
| Customizing Backstage | 32% | 33% | 42 | 42 |
All 126 questions have a written explanation. Live from the database; the CBA bank coverage report explains the method.
A domain whose bank share is well below its weight is one to study from the official curriculum and the project documentation as well; the bank-coverage report linked below tracks these gaps over time.
How the bank covers the CBA curriculum
The CBA curriculum is written as tasks rather than concepts: build and run a project, configure it, populate the catalog, customise a plugin. The cards below list those tasks per domain next to the GoldenKube question count. Customizing Backstage, the 32% domain, holds the most questions (42 of 126); Backstage Catalog holds the fewest (24). Each CBA domain is a single practice set in the bank, so the adaptive order sends you to whichever of the four you currently answer worst. Because the topics describe things you do, the questions are easiest to answer after you have done them once in a local app.
Backstage Development Workflow
24% of the exam · 33 questions in the bank
Whether you can build and run a Backstage project locally, install its dependencies, compile it with TypeScript and package it as a container image.
Official curriculum topics
- Build and run Backstage projects locally
- Understand local development workflows
- Compile a Backstage project with TypeScript
- Download and install dependencies for a Backstage project with NPM/Yarn
- Use Docker to build a container image of a Backstage project
Backstage Infrastructure
22% of the exam · 27 questions in the bank
Whether you understand how the framework is put together, how configuration is loaded and overridden, and what changes when Backstage runs in production as a client and a server.
Official curriculum topics
- Understand the Backstage framework
- Configure Backstage
- Deploy Backstage to production
- Understand Backstage client-server architecture
Backstage Catalog
22% of the exam · 24 questions in the bank
Whether you know why the software catalog exists, how entities get into it manually or automatically, what annotations do and how to find out why an entity did not appear.
Official curriculum topics
- Understand how/why to use Backstage Catalog
- Populate Backstage Catalog
- Using annotations
- Working with manually registered entity locations
- Troubleshooting entity ingestion
- Working with automated ingestion
Customizing Backstage
32% of the exam · 42 questions in the bank
Whether you can tell frontend from backend plugins, customise a plugin and change the React code of the app with Material UI components.
Official curriculum topics
- Understand frontend versus backend plugins
- Customizing Backstage plugins
- Make changes to React code in Backstage App
- Using Material UI components
Weights from the official certification page; question counts from the GoldenKube bank when this page was built; topics as named in the CNCF curriculum PDF listed under Sources.
At 126 questions the CBA bank is smaller than the KCNA, KCSA and KCA banks, so one pass is quick; the value comes from repeating the misses through the review ladder and from pairing each domain with a short exercise in a local Backstage app.
Try three CBA questions
Three questions from the bank with their answers and explanations. The CBA sample-questions page has twenty more; the practice session has the whole bank.
Question 1
- A.Angular – Backstage uses Angular's component model and dependency injection system
- B.Vue.js – the Backstage frontend is built with Vue.js and the Composition API
- C.Svelte – Backstage uses Svelte for its compiler-based reactive UI framework
- D.React – the Backstage frontend is built with React and TypeScript
Correct answer: D
@backstage/core-plugin-api package for plugin development.Question 2
- A.Frontend plugins manage API integrations, while backend plugins manage UI components.
- B.Frontend plugins handle user interfaces, while backend plugins manage server-side logic.
- C.Backend plugins are required for CI/CD integration, while frontend plugins handle entity ingestion.
- D.Backend plugins render UI components dynamically, while frontend plugins are static.
Correct answer: B
Question 3
- A.schema.json
- B.config.d.ts
- C.plugin.yaml
- D.manifest.json
Correct answer: B
How to practise CBA with GoldenKube
A CBA loop on GoldenKube pairs the bank with one small change to a local Backstage app per day, because the curriculum asks you to build, configure and customise rather than recite. The bank side follows the product's rules: reviews that are due come first, new questions come from your weakest domain, and a missed question returns after 12 other answers, then after 1 day and after 4 days. At 18 new answers a day the 126 questions are seen in a week, which leaves time each day for the hands-on step.
The 7-day loop
- Day 118 unfiltered answers. Then create an app with npx @backstage/create-app@latest and start it with yarn start, which runs the frontend and backend as separate processes.
- Day 2Reviews first, then Focus mode on Backstage Development Workflow. Hands-on: build a container image with the host-build approach from the Docker guide.
- Day 3Focus on Backstage Infrastructure. Hands-on: override one value in app-config.local.yaml and another with an APP_CONFIG_ environment variable, and check which one wins.
- Day 4Focus on Backstage Catalog. Hands-on: register a catalog-info.yaml for a Component, then read the catalog.rules in the generated app-config.yaml and list which entity kinds it allows.
- Day 5Focus on Customizing Backstage, the largest domain. Hands-on: change one page of the app in React and note which package the change lives in.
- Day 6No filter. The adaptive order now spends most of the session on your weakest domain; clear the 1-day reviews from day 5 first.
- Day 7One timed mock exam in the official format, then read its by-domain result against your practice accuracy.
The 14-day loop
- Days 1-2About 9 answers a day without a filter, and a local app created and running.
- Days 3-4Focus on Backstage Development Workflow; build the app with TypeScript and as a Docker image.
- Days 5-6Focus on Backstage Infrastructure; read the configuration and architecture pages linked below.
- Days 7-8Focus on Backstage Catalog; register entities by URL and through static locations, and break one on purpose to practise troubleshooting ingestion.
- Days 9-11Focus on Customizing Backstage over three days, matching its 32% weight; add or adapt one frontend plugin.
- Day 12First mock exam; note the weakest domain.
- Days 13-14Reviews first, Focus on that domain, then a second mock. Bookmark the questions you answered by elimination and practise them from the review center.
The first 10 answers need no account; a free account keeps your reviews, bookmarks and mock history for the rest of the loop. The progress page weights each domain by its official CBA weight when it computes the readiness score, so Customizing Backstage moves it most.
Common CBA mistakes
CBA mistakes usually come from defaults: what the catalog accepts, which configuration file wins, what happens to an entity whose source disappears. Each item below is stated as the Backstage documentation states it, with the page linked, so you can check the behaviour in a local app.
1. Expecting every entity kind to be ingested
By default the catalog only allows the ingestion of entities of kind Component, API and Location. Other kinds, such as Group, User, System or Template, need catalog rules, and if the catalog.rules key is present it replaces the default, so the default kinds have to be listed again.
2. Writing entity references without the default namespace in mind
A string reference has the form [<kind>:][<namespace>/]<name>; only the name is required. An entity with no namespace gets the value "default", and when references are passed between systems the documentation asks for complete, lowercased refs with all three parts.
Source: Entity References (backstage.io)
3. Getting configuration precedence backwards
APP_CONFIG_ environment variables have the highest priority, followed by files. With several --config flags, the last one wins; with none, app-config.local.yaml takes priority over app-config.yaml. Objects are merged deeply, but arrays and primitive values are replaced as a whole.
Source: Writing Backstage Configuration Files (backstage.io)
4. Assuming every plugin needs a backend
The architecture overview describes standalone plugins that run entirely in the browser, service backend plugins that call a service run by the same organisation, and third-party backend plugins whose service is hosted outside it. Which kind a plugin is decides what has to be deployed.
5. Expecting a moved catalog file to leave a duplicate
When a parent stops emitting a child entity and nothing else references it, the child becomes orphaned and gets the backstage.io/orphan annotation. The current documentation says it is removed implicitly when orphanStrategy is delete, which it gives as the default, or reclaimed if a parent references it again.
6. Treating the multi-stage Docker build as the recommended path
The Backstage Docker guide recommends the host build first, because of its speed and simpler caching. The full multi-stage build and separate frontend and backend images are documented as alternatives.
7. Studying legacy plugin documentation as current
The plugins introduction is labelled legacy: it covers the old frontend system and points new development to the new frontend and backend systems. In the new backend system, plugins provide base features and modules extend them through extension points.
Mock exam
The CBA mock exam draws 60 questions from the bank, gives you 90 minutes and scores the run against the 75% threshold, the same numbers as the official format. It is a timed rehearsal of pacing and stamina, not a prediction: the questions are GoldenKube's own and the result is practice feedback. Mock exams need a free account; your history of runs is kept on the exam's mock page.
Frequently asked questions
Is the CBA practice test free?
Yes. Your first 10 answers need no account. After that a free account keeps your progress; there is no paid tier and no card.
How many CBA questions are there?
126 when this page was written; the live count from the database is shown at the top of the page. Questions are added and corrected over time.
Does the CBA practice test match the real exam format?
The mock exam uses the published format: 60 questions, 90 minutes, 75% to pass. Practice mode is untimed and adaptive. The questions themselves are GoldenKube's own, not exam content.
Where are more sample questions with answers?
The CBA sample-questions page shows 20 questions with answers and explanations without an account, and each CBA topic page shows three more for its subdomain.
What are the core entities of the Backstage system model?
Components (pieces of software), APIs (the boundaries between components) and Resources (the infrastructure a component needs at runtime). Systems and Domains group them, and Users and Groups describe people and organisational units such as teams.
How many CBA questions are in each domain of the GoldenKube bank?
33 in Backstage Development Workflow, 27 in Backstage Infrastructure, 24 in Backstage Catalog and 42 in Customizing Backstage, 126 in total. Every question is filed under one official domain.
Do I need to run Backstage locally to prepare for CBA?
It is the fastest way to make the task-style topics concrete. A new app is created with npx @backstage/create-app@latest, and yarn start runs the frontend and backend as two processes, which is also a quick way to see the client-server split the infrastructure domain asks about.
Sources
- Certified Backstage Associate (official certification page) (read )
- CBA Exam Curriculum (CNCF curriculum repository) (read )
- Getting Started (backstage.io) (read )
- Architecture overview (backstage.io) (read )
- Writing Backstage Configuration Files (backstage.io) (read )
- Building a Docker image (backstage.io) (read )
- Catalog Configuration (backstage.io) (read )
- Entity References (backstage.io) (read )
- Descriptor Format of Catalog Entities (backstage.io) (read )
- System Model (backstage.io) (read )
- The Life of an Entity (backstage.io) (read )
- Introduction to Plugins (Legacy) (backstage.io) (read )
- The Backend System (backstage.io) (read )
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