CGOA Linux Foundation Certified GitOps Associate Exam Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

One of the GitOps principles isVersioned and Immutable, which requires that the Desired State is stored in a system that maintains acomplete version history. This allows for auditing, traceability, and rollback.

“The Desired State must be stored in a versioned, immutable system. The State Store must retain a complete version history so changes can be audited and previous states can be restored.”

Thus, the correct answer isB.

In GitOps, Continuous Deployment (CD) follows after Continuous Integration (CI). CI is responsible for building and testing application code, while CD automates the delivery and deployment of these changes into runtime environments. The Git repository serves as the single source of truth, and when CI merges new changes into the main branch, CD reconciles the state of the environment to match what is declared in Git.

“GitOps builds on the principles of DevOps by using Git as the source of truth for declarative infrastructure and applications. CI pipelines handle the integration and testing of code, and CD pipelines or agents automatically reconcile the desired state in Git with the actual state in the cluster.”

This shows that CD is triggered after CI to handle deployment automation, ensuring systems remain in sync with what is declared in version control.

Declarative configuration describeswhatthe system should look like, nothowto achieve it. This enables the use ofstandard reconciliation tools(like ArgoCD or Flux) to manage the system automatically, removing the burden of writing and maintaining imperative scripts.

“Declarative configuration enables systems to be managed by generic reconciliation tools rather than bespoke scripts, reducing operational overhead and increasing reliability.”

Thus, the correct answer isB.

Thefeedback loopis critical in GitOps reconciliation. It continuously monitors the system’s actual state and compares it to the desired state. This loop determines when reconciliation is required and whether a full or partial synchronization is necessary.

“The feedback loop in reconciliation continuously observes the actual state. It determines if reconciliation is required, and informs whether to perform a partial or full sync to align with the declared desired state.”

Thus, the correct answer isA.

ThePulled AutomaticallyGitOps principle refers to the way software agents continuously access theDesired Statestored in the State Store (e.g., Git). Agents automatically pull the state from the repository and reconcile the system accordingly.

“Software agents automatically pull the desired state declarations from the source of truth (State Store) and continuously reconcile the system to match.”

Thus, the correct answer isD.

In GitOps, rollback is the process of reverting to a previous known-good configuration stored in Git. This is typically done when a deployment introduces abug, error, or failurethat impacts system stability.

“Rollback in GitOps is used to revert to a previous commit representing a stable configuration when the current deployment causes errors or failures.”

Thus, the correct answer isA.

Configuration as Codeis a GitOps-related practice where configurations are stored as declarative definitions in version control. Helm charts, for example, allow applications deployed on Kubernetes to have both their container images and configuration specified declaratively.

“Configuration as Code enables teams to manage application and infrastructure configuration in version control systems, using declarative approaches such as Kubernetes manifests or Helm charts. This ensures repeatability, automation, and auditability.”

Thus,Helm chartsare a prime example of this practice, makingCcorrect.

DevSecOpsintegrates security into the DevOps culture and CI/CD pipelines. Instead of treating security as an afterthought, DevSecOps ensures security checks, policies, and automated validations are embedded throughout the CI/CD process.

“DevSecOps emphasizes shifting security left, integrating security testing, validation, and compliance into every stage of the CI/CD pipeline. This ensures vulnerabilities are detected early and software is delivered securely.”

Thus,Dis correct: DevSecOps culture is essential for CI/CD pipelines to ensure security is baked into software delivery.

In GitOps, deployments are driven bycommitting declarative configurationinto a Git repository (the State Store). From there, agents reconcile the actual environment to match the desired state, making deployments reproducible and auditable.

“To deploy in GitOps, commit the declarative configuration into version control. The reconciler ensures the runtime environment converges to the declared state.”

Thus, the correct answer isD.

Although reconciliation is continuous in GitOps, tools often allow reconciliation to be triggered earlier than the normal polling interval. The recommended approach is to usewebhooks from the Git repository, which notify the GitOps controller of changes and trigger an immediate reconcile.

“While reconciliation loops continuously compare desired and actual state, reconciliation can be triggered sooner by webhooks from version control events, ensuring timely application of changes.”

Thus, the correct answer isA.

Kustomize is a GitOps tool for managing Kubernetes configurations declaratively. It uses afolder structure with configuration filesand akustomization.yamlfile that references resources and overlays. This enables customization without modifying the base manifests.

“Kustomize allows customization of Kubernetes manifests by organizing resources in directories and referencing them through file paths in a kustomization file. This directory-based approach supports overlays, reusability, and modular configuration.”

Thus, the correct answer isD.

TheState Storeis typically implemented using aversion control system (VCS)such as Git. This ensures that the system’s state is auditable, versioned, and immutable. Other systems like databases or distributed file systems do not meet the immutability and versioning requirements of GitOps.

“In GitOps, the desired state must be stored in a version control system. This serves as the State Store, providing a complete, immutable, and auditable history of changes.”

Thus, the correct answer isD: version control system.

Continuous reconciliationis another core GitOps principle. It means that software agents (operators or controllers) run loops that continuously observe the live system and compare it against the desired state declared in Git. If any divergence (drift) is found, the agentautomatically reconcilesthe system to match the declared configuration.

“Software agents continuously observe the actual system state and compare it with the desired state declared in Git. If a divergence is detected, the agents automatically reconcile the difference to bring the system back into alignment.”

This providesautomation, consistency, and self-healing, which are hallmarks of GitOps.

In GitOps, thepull-based modelcontinuously reconciles the actual state with the desired state. This makes it resilient to drift, since reconciliation runs regularly. In contrast,event-driven systemsonly reconcile when an event occurs (e.g., a webhook), which makes them more prone to drift if changes happen outside those events.

“A pull-based reconciliation loop ensures continuous alignment with the desired state. Event-driven reconciliation, triggered only on events, risks system drift if changes occur outside those triggers.”

Thus, the correct answer isD.

Whendriftoccurs (actual state diverges from desired state), GitOps controllers attempt to reapply theDesired Statestored in Git. The system is always converged toward what Git declares, never the other way around.

“In case of drift, the reconciler re-applies the desired state from Git to the runtime environment, ensuring the actual system matches the declared configuration.”

Thus, the correct answer isB.

In GitOps,reconcilersensure the actual state matches the desired state. Reconcilers may run inside the cluster (in-cluster) or outside (external). The choice depends primarily on operational scale and the complexity of reconciliation logic.

“When determining reconciler placement, factors such as the size of the environment, the operational complexity of the reconciler, and the performance requirements should be evaluated. In-cluster reconcilers are common for straightforward deployments, while external reconcilers may be chosen for large-scale or complex systems.”

Thus, the most important considerations arecluster sizeandcomplexity of reconciler logic, makingBcorrect.

The process of keeping theactual statein sync with thedesired stateis calledReconciliation. GitOps controllers (e.g., ArgoCD, Flux) continuously reconcile system resources to match what is declared in Git.

“Reconciliation is the process by which agents compare the actual system state to the desired state and automatically make changes to converge them.”

Thus, the correct answer isA: Reconciliation.