# K16S

> Self-hosted CKA/CKS exam simulator with real kubeadm clusters, Incus workers, timed mocks, browser terminal, and automated grading.

- **Category:** Education
- **Licence:** Other
- **Latest version:** 2026-09-08
- **Open source:** source_available
- **Languages:** Shell
- **Platforms:** Docker, Linux
- **Tags:** Devops, Homelab, Kubernetes, Lxc, Incus, K8s, Cka, Cks, Exam Simulator, Kubeadm, Lima, Kind, Certification Prep, Hands On Labs, Automated Grading, Lima Vm, Kubernetes Security

## Description

K16S is a self-hosted exam simulator for the CKA and CKS Kubernetes certifications. It deploys an authentic kubeadm cluster with Incus LXC containers acting as worker nodes, each running its own systemd, containerd, and kubelet. This reproduces the real exam environment including systemctl access, etcd backup/restore, static pod manifests, and crictl debugging. The simulator includes two CKA mock exams (18 questions each) and three CKS mock exams (15-18 questions each) covering the 2026 curricula, with per-question setup scripts that break the cluster and validation scripts that grade fixes against real cluster state. It runs in three modes: on a VPS or VM (Debian 13, Ubuntu 22.04 or newer), on a laptop via Lima VM (macOS/Linux, 16 GB+ RAM), or lightweight via kind in Docker (~2 GB RAM). The web UI provides a browser-based terminal (ttyd) and timed exam sessions with automated grading. Licensed under PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 — available at no cost for personal and non-commercial purposes.

## Links

- [Homepage](https://github.com/immanuwell/k16s-exam-simulator)
- [Website](https://ewry.net/k16s/)
- [Documentation](https://github.com/immanuwell/k16s-exam-simulator)
- [Self-Hosted Guide](https://ewry.net/k16s/self-hosted/)
- [Hosted Simulator](https://ewry.net/k16s/simulator/)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/project/k16s-exam-simulator