Guide
Study guide & resources
How to get the most out of this simulator, plus the official Anthropic docs and courses worth reading before you sit the Claude Certified Architect exam.
Prefer to study by topic? Start with the Curriculum
30 focused lessons across the five exam domains — key concepts, exam traps, and practice questions for each task statement.
Suggested study flow
A proven order for preparing, drawn from candidates who recently passed.
- 1
Solve the official Anthropic mock test first to get the overall picture.
- 2
Read the community study guide end to end: guide_en.MD (paullarionov/claude-certified-architect).
- 3
Take a full mock in our Exam mode and immediately analyze every answer in the review — why the correct option is right and each other one is wrong.
- 4
Read this Reddit write-up very carefully — it shows the real thinking behind the questions.
- 5
Run another mock in Exam mode (a fresh question draw) and re-analyze with that post in mind, to see and confirm the patterns for yourself.
Aim for ~1000 on the mock before sitting the real exam. Many candidates report that 40–50% of real questions overlap with the community mock — but you may still hit 10–15 new questions or a new domain, so understand the reasoning, not just the answers.
How to study
Work one domain at a time
Start in untimed Practice by domain. Read every explanation — including the ones you got right — so the reasoning sticks, not just the answer.
Simulate the real thing
Once a domain feels solid, take a full timed mock exam. 90 questions in 90 minutes is as much about pacing and stamina as it is about knowledge.
Re-drill your misses
The Saved & review page collects everything you missed or bookmarked. Re-answer those until they're automatic — that's where scores move fastest.
Watch the trend
Check Progress to see which domains lag and whether your scores are trending toward a pass before you book the real exam.
Understand, don't memorize
This bank is a study aid — the real exam rewards understanding trade-offs. Focus on why an option is right and why the others aren't.
Official Anthropic resources
Claude Docsdocs.claude.com
The canonical reference for the Claude API, the model lineup, and platform capabilities.
Prompt engineering guidedocs.claude.com
Techniques for writing reliable prompts — the heart of architecting solutions with Claude.
Anthropic Academyanthropic.com/learn
Free courses and learning paths, including material that maps directly to the certification.
Building effective agentsanthropic.com/engineering
Anthropic's guide to agent patterns: workflows, tool use, and knowing when to keep it simple.
Community & exam-prep resources
Community repo & prep guidegithub.com/paullarionov
An open-source CCAF study guide with domain notes and the full guide_en.MD walkthrough.
Summary write-up (table of contents)reddit.com
A passed-candidate summary packed with links and advice — a solid map of everything to prepare.
Tricky questions & patternsreddit.com
Notes from a team that passed together — the real reasoning behind the trickiest items.
Go deeper
Anthropic Cookbookgithub.com/anthropics
Runnable code recipes for common tasks — RAG, tool use, vision, and more.
Anthropic Coursesgithub.com/anthropics
Structured, hands-on courses on the API, prompt engineering, and real-world prompting.
Model Context Protocolmodelcontextprotocol.io
The open standard for connecting Claude to external tools and data sources.