AI Certs Exam
Study Guides Practice Tests Blog
CNCF / Kubernetes DevOps 100% Free Practice Simulator

Certified Backstage Associate (CBA)

Demonstrate foundational competence in building, customizing, and maintaining Internal Developer Portals (IDPs) using Spotify Backstage, including the Software Catalog, Scaffolder templates, TechDocs, and core plugin ecosystems.

90 min
Time Allowance
52
Exam Questions
75%
Passing Score
~1.7 min
Target Pace / Q

Official Exam Specification & Quick Facts

Certification Track
Certified Backstage Associate (CBA)
Exam Vendor / Provider
CNCF / Kubernetes
Domain Area
DevOps
Testing Time
90 minutes (~1.7 min/q)
Passing Benchmark
75% scaled score
Simulator Access
100% Free · Unlimited Retakes

Question Difficulty Breakdown

Easy
17 q's (33%)
Medium
18 q's (35%)
Hard
17 q's (33%)
Difficulty distribution mirrors authentic proctored exam questions with scenario traps, multi-select items, and architectural trade-offs.

Exam Guidelines & Simulation Rules

Timed Simulation The 90-minute timer starts immediately. Sessions auto-submit when the clock reaches zero.
Realistic Formats Single-choice and multi-choice scenario questions modeled directly from the official CNCF / Kubernetes syllabus.
Flag & Review Flag challenging questions to review anytime before submitting your final answers.
In-Depth Explanations Instant post-exam breakdown explaining why the correct choice wins and why distractor options fail.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The CBA is a multiple-choice certification from the CNCF and Linux Foundation validating foundational knowledge of Spotify Backstage, Internal Developer Portals (IDPs), and developer experience engineering.

The CBA is a 90-minute multiple-choice examination consisting of 60 questions administered online with remote proctoring.

A passing scaled score of 75% is required. Results are displayed immediately upon submission.

Domains include: (1) Backstage Overview & Architecture (20%), (2) Backstage Software Catalog (25%), (3) Backstage Software Templates / Scaffolder (25%), (4) TechDocs (15%), and (5) Plugins & Integrations (15%).

An IDP is a centralized developer platform that provides self-service infrastructure scaffolding, service cataloging, documentation, and operational visibility to reduce cognitive load and streamline development.

The Software Catalog is a centralized database tracking ownership, dependencies, APIs, and runtime health of all software components (Components, Systems, Domains, APIs, Resources, Groups, Users).

Component (a piece of software/service), API (interface boundaries), Resource (databases, queues), System (collection of components/resources), Domain (high-level business domain), User, and Group (ownership).

The Scaffolder allows engineers to create new software projects based on standardized templates using YAML definitions (template.yaml), fetching skeletons, collecting user inputs, and publishing to Git.

TechDocs is a 'docs-as-code' documentation solution. Technical documentation is written in Markdown files alongside code in Git, compiled into HTML via MkDocs, and rendered directly inside Backstage.

Frontend plugins provide React UI components and pages running in the browser. Backend plugins provide Node.js/Express API services handling business logic, database queries, and third-party integrations.

Backstage supports authentication providers (GitHub, Okta, Google, Azure AD) and enforces authorization policies via the Permission Framework to restrict access to entities and actions.

Platform engineers, developer advocates, full-stack engineers, technical leads, and engineering managers building Internal Developer Platforms.