Golden Kubestronaut 2026: a self-hosted practice simulator for the CNCF path

Description and use

Golden Kubestronaut 2026 is a self‑hosted practice simulator for CNCF certifications, enabling local training, grading, and domain‑level feedback without external services.

Problem

Practicing for multiple CNCF certifications requires juggling many browser tabs and paid mock‑exam sites.

Outcome

Users can practice all major CNCF certifications locally, receive graded feedback, and identify weak domains without external services.

Workflow

• Clone the repo
• Run ./ga validate to check bank syntax
• Run ./ga doctor for preflight checks
• Run ./ga up to start containers
• Open http://127.0.0.1:8902 to use the UI
• Use training, mastery, or exam modes
• After attempts, review per‑domain breakdown

Evidence

After passing the CKA again this year, I wanted one place to practise for the rest of the CNCF list without juggling a dozen browser tabs and paid mock-exam sites.

Source

The project has four parts: Engine, Question banks, Curriculum, Deployment.

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There are 16 banks and 274 questions in total. 48 of them are hands‑on tasks; the rest are single‑answer multiple choice with a written explanation for every option.

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Multiple‑choice questions are marked right or wrong against the answer key. Hands‑on questions are where the project earns its keep.

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You need Docker with Compose. For local validation you also need Python 3 and PyYAML.

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