Linux Foundation / CNCF CBA: Certified Backstage Associate (CBA)

Last checked November 10, 2026 against the official Linux Foundation / CNCF exam page.

1. Question 1Customizing Backstage

   Which kind of code belongs in a frontend plugin in Backstage?

   1. AReact components that render pages and cards in the user's browser
   2. BDatabase migration scripts that create the tables used by the catalog at startup
   3. CScheduled jobs that query databases and send results to external services on a timer
   4. DDockerfile instructions that define how the production image is built and tagged
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   Correct answer: A

   Frontend plugins supply React components and pages that run in the browser. Scheduled jobs and migrations run on the server, and Dockerfile steps belong to the build pipeline, so those belong in backend plugins or infrastructure code.

2. Question 2Backstage Development Workflow

   A developer clones a Backstage monorepo and wants to start the frontend and the backend together for local development with one command. Which action fits this goal?

   1. ABuild the Docker image first, then start the frontend and backend as separate containers
   2. BEdit app-config.production.yaml so the development server starts automatically
   3. CStart only the backend, then open the production static bundle in a browser
   4. DRun the root-level dev script, which starts frontend and backend together
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   Correct answer: D

   The default Backstage repository provides a root-level dev script that runs the frontend and backend together for local work. Building a Docker image is a packaging step rather than a local dev session, editing the production config does not start any process, and starting only the backend leaves out the frontend.

3. Question 3Backstage Infrastructure

   Which description best matches what Backstage is?

   1. AA hosted service that replaces your Git hosting provider and handles every code review for you
   2. BAn open-source framework for building an internal developer portal with plugins
   3. CA continuous integration runner that compiles container images for each commit pushed to a branch
   4. DA Kubernetes operator that manages node pools and autoscaling for production clusters
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   Correct answer: B

   Backstage is a framework that teams use to build their own developer portal, combining a software catalog with a plugin system. It is not a hosted Git service, a CI runner, or a cluster operator, so those descriptions do not match its purpose.

4. Question 4Backstage Catalog

   A team owns a microservice that other teams should discover in the catalog. The entry should show who owns it, its lifecycle stage, and its type. Which entity kind should the team define?

   1. ALocation, which describes a list of files the catalog should scan for entity definitions
   2. BComponent, which describes a piece of software with an owner, a lifecycle, and a type
   3. CTemplate, which describes a scaffolding recipe that creates new projects from a form
   4. DGroup, which describes the team that owns a component and its members in the organization
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   Correct answer: B

   The Component kind describes software such as a service or website and carries fields like owner, lifecycle, and type. Location points at where entity files live, Group describes the owning team rather than the software itself, and Template drives the scaffolder to create new projects.

5. Question 5Customizing Backstage

   A plugin must call a company ticketing API using a secret key and keep the results available to other plugins. Where should this work be implemented?

   1. AIn a frontend plugin that stores the secret key in React state so it survives page reloads
   2. BIn a Material UI theme override that caches the ticketing results in the browser's memory
   3. CIn a backend plugin that holds the key and exposes an API the frontend can call
   4. DIn catalog annotations on each User entity, which the browser reads when the page loads
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   Correct answer: C

   Backend plugins keep secrets on the server and expose data through their own routes, which the frontend and other plugins can call. Storing the key in frontend state or annotations would expose it to the browser, and a theme override is styling code rather than an integration layer.