CBA Mock Exam and Practice Questions

Practise for the Certified Backstage Associate exam with mock exams in its real format: 60 multi-choice questions, 90 minutes and a 75% pass mark, with an explanation for every option. Internal developer portals with Backstage.

Questions

multi-choice

Duration

90 min

Pass mark

75%

Study time

1–6 wks

Curriculum verified

Oct 2026

How it is checked

CBA is one of the 16 certifications required for Golden Kubestronaut. See the full Golden Kubestronaut list →

CBA exam domains and topics

The official CBA curriculum splits the exam into 4 weighted domains. Under each are the competencies it lists — the topics the mock exams here are written against.

Backstage Catalog 22% · ~13 questions
- 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% · ~19 questions
- Understand frontend versus backend plugins
- Customizing Backstage plugins
- Make changes to React code in Backstage App
- Using Material UI components
Backstage Development Workflow 24% · ~14 questions
- 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% · ~13 questions
- Understand the Backstage framework
- Configure Backstage
- Deploy Backstage to production
- Understand Backstage client-server architecture

Questions per domain are the official weight applied to the exam's 60 questions, rounded.

A free CBA sample question

Backstage Catalog

Q1. A repository owner adds catalog-info.yaml so Backstage can ingest a service into the software catalog. What should that file contain?

A A Kubernetes Pod manifest for deploying the service
Incorrect. The descriptor format resembles YAML but is not a Kubernetes deployment manifest.
B Entity metadata such as kind, name, owner, and relationships
Correct. catalog-info.yaml is an entity descriptor that Backstage can ingest into the catalog.
C The SQL schema used by the Backstage catalog database
Incorrect. Database schemas are managed by backend plugins and migrations.
D A global configuration file shared by every Backstage instance
Incorrect. catalog-info.yaml describes one or more catalog entities; it is not global app configuration.

Reveal answer and explanations

Start the full CBA mock exam90-min timer · paid plan required

What is in the CBA mock exams

3 full mock exams of 60 questions each: 180 original questions across all 4 domains.
Exam simulation on the real 90-minute timer, with your score and a breakdown by domain at the end.
Practice mode with the explanation after every answer, plus domain drills and a review of the questions you missed.
The full mocks need a paid plan; the sample question on this page is free.

Prerequisites and background knowledge

Familiarity with internal developer portals and platform engineering concepts. Basic TypeScript knowledge helps for plugin questions.

Official reference: cncf.io/training/certification/cba.

More CBA practice resources

CBA exam tips

Where to go after CBA

Once you pass CBA, these certs are natural next steps on the Golden Kubestronaut path:

CNPA — Certified Cloud Native Platform Engineering Associate

Frequently asked questions about CBA

How many questions are on the CBA exam?

60 multi-choice questions in 90 minutes. Each CBA mock exam here matches that: 60 questions on a 90-minute timer.

What is the passing score for CBA?

75%.

How long is the CBA exam?

90 minutes.

What topics does the CBA exam cover?

The CBA curriculum has 4 domains: Backstage Catalog (22%), Customizing Backstage (32%), Backstage Development Workflow (24%) and Backstage Infrastructure (22%).

How difficult is the CBA exam?

Rated intermediate. Plan 1–6 weeks depending on your background.

How much does the CBA exam cost?

Pricing changes periodically — check the official CNCF CBA page at https://www.cncf.io/training/certification/cba/.

Are these CBA mock exams free?

The sample question on this page is free with no account. Full timed CBA mocks require a paid plan.

How is this mock exam different from the real CBA exam?

Original questions written against the official CNCF curriculum — not scraped dumps. Format mirrors the real exam; the real one is proctored, these are self-paced.

How current are the CBA questions?

The CBA question bank is checked every month against the official curriculum: the Linux Foundation and CNCF certification pages and the curriculum PDF. The last check was in October 2026. When the curriculum changes, the questions are revised.

Is CBA required for Golden Kubestronaut?

Yes. CBA is one of the 16 certifications required for Golden Kubestronaut.

What is the best way to study for CBA?

Work through the official curriculum in order of domain weight (heaviest first), then run full timed mocks until you hit 85%+ consistently.