The CNCF recognition awarded for holding all five Kubernetes certifications — CKA, CKAD, CKS, KCNA and KCSA — at the same time.
Kubestronaut is not an exam. It is a status awarded by CNCF to anyone holding all five Kubernetes credentials concurrently: the three hands-on exams (CKA, CKAD, CKS) and the two associate-level exams (KCNA, KCSA).
The word "concurrently" matters. Certifications are valid for two years, so letting an early one lapse while working through the rest resets the goal.
A sensible order is KCNA to build vocabulary, CKAD or CKA next depending on whether you build or operate, then the remaining hands-on exam, KCSA as security theory, and CKS last — CKS requires a current CKA anyway.
In the order most candidates take them. Where a track offers a choice of concentration, every eligible exam is listed.
The entry point to the cloud native ecosystem: Kubernetes fundamentals, container orchestration concepts, cloud native architecture, observability and application delivery.
The developer-focused Kubernetes lab exam: designing and building application workloads, configuring them, exposing them through services, and observing and debugging what you deploy.
The benchmark Kubernetes administrator exam, taken entirely in a live cluster: architecture and installation, workloads and scheduling, networking, storage, and troubleshooting under time pressure.
Security fundamentals for Kubernetes: cluster component security, the cloud native threat model, platform security controls, and compliance frameworks for containerised platforms.
The hardest of the Kubernetes lab exams: cluster hardening, system hardening, supply chain security, runtime security with behavioural tooling, and minimising microservice vulnerabilities.
CNCF Kubestronaut requires 5 exams. They are listed below in the order most candidates take them.
24 months from the date the final exam is passed. Renewal requirements are set by the vendor and change from time to time, so confirm before your expiry date.