Docs and API Sprint: Find It, Apply It

Why this matters

Developer tasks name fields constantly: readinessGates, startupProbe, topologySpreadConstraints, securityContext, volumeClaimTemplates. Nobody memorizes all of them; working developers look them up daily, and the exam permits exactly that. The differentiator is lookup speed plus the discipline to check the API version before applying, because deprecated APIs are a favorite trap.

Concepts

Two sources, two jobs. The Tasks pages carry copyable examples (configure probes, define environment, run jobs). The API reference defines every field with its version history: which release added it, which deprecated it, which removed it. A CKAD question on an older pattern (extensions/v1beta1 Ingress, batch/v1beta1 CronJob) is testing whether you write the current apiVersion, so the reference check is part of the task, not extra credit.

Version awareness drill: before applying any copied example, read its apiVersion and compare with kubectl api-versions | grep <group> on your cluster. Mismatched versions are the number-one reason copied YAML fails, and the fix is one line once you look.

kubectl explain <resource>.<field> covers structure offline-fast; the docs cover semantics and examples. Ninety seconds without an answer means switching tools, not trying harder with the same one.

Worked example

Probe plus version check, one loop:

# task needs an http readiness probe on /healthz, port 8080
kubectl explain pod.spec.containers.readinessProbe.httpGet
# copy the probes example from the docs, set path + port, check apiVersion (v1, stable)
kubectl apply -f probe.yaml
kubectl describe pod <name> | grep -A3 Readiness

Explain gives the field shape in ten seconds, the docs give the example in thirty, the version check takes five. Total under a minute with practice.

Exam notes

Helm and third-party docs are outside the allowed set: if a task smells like Helm values, translate it to raw manifests from the workload docs instead. Deprecated API versions fail loudly on apply and silently waste five minutes of confusion; make the apiVersion glance a reflex. And record nothing in advance: bookmarks do not transfer, search paths in your head do.