Posted on September 30, 2025 by Maryam Tavakkoli | CNCF Ambassador

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If you’ve been working with ArgoCD or exploring GitOps, you’ve probably come across the Certified Argo Project Associate (CAPA) exam. I recently passed it, and in this post, I want to share:

This isn’t a sales pitch. It’s a real-world guide to help you prepare — and understand whether this certification is right for you.

👩‍💻 My Background with Argo

I’ve been working with ArgoCD for over a year now as a senior cloud engineer. I’ve had first-hand experience managing real-world GitOps workflows, and designing deployment strategies using ArgoCD.

However, the CAPA exam doesn’t just focus on ArgoCD. It covers four Argo projects:

While I had a solid foundation in GitOps and ArgoCD (which makes up 34% of the exam), I had little to no hands-on experience with Workflows, Rollouts, or Events â€” and that’s where most of my preparation efforts went.

📚 My Study Strategy (1-Month Plan)

I prepared for the exam over the course of 1 month â€” with a focused, hands-on approach. Here’s the breakdown of how I studied and what resources I used:

🎓 1. Linux Foundation Course (LFS256)

As a CNCF Ambassador, I had the opportunity to get the exam for free, and I also opted to purchase the â€œDevOps and Workflow Management with Argo (LFS256)” training course.

🧪 2. Practice Repos, Examples, and Real Configs

Once I understood the basics, I needed to go deeper. These resources helped me get hands-on with the kind of configurations and scenarios that appear in the exam:

📘 CNCF Exams GitLab Repository

👉 Certified Argo Project Associate CAPA

✍️ Study Guides from the Community

These two blog posts were absolute gold. Both authors shared their notes while preparing, and their attention to detail helped me immensely:

They covered corner-case configurations, lesser-known CLI behaviors, and practical tips that often go unmentioned in the official documentation.

📝 3. Udemy Mock Exams

I also bought the CAPA Mock Exams Course on Udemy.

🧠 Exam Format & Experience

Here’s what the actual exam looked like:

The majority of questions were scenario-based. You won’t get by with just theory. You really need to understand YAML configuration, resource relationships, and use-case trade-offs.

💡 My Favorite Part of the Journey

The most fun part for me? Whenever I encountered a tricky ArgoCD config question, my mind immediately went to:

“Wait… could this solve that issue in our current project?”

Studying for the CAPA exam gave me new perspectives on how to use ArgoCD better in production. It wasn’t just about passing — it was about learning practical skills I could apply the next day at work.

✅ Would I Recommend It?

Absolutely — if you’re already working with GitOps, or planning to adopt Argo tools in your team. It’s not an “easy pass” cert, but with 1–2 months of focused prep, you’ll gain:

📎 TL;DR — My Tips