Exam Tips & Caveats
Format, logistics, high-yield facts, common traps, and a study plan to pass GH-900: GitHub Foundations. Use this alongside the seven skill-area pages — this page is strategy, not a substitute for the content.
Exam Logistics
GH-900 is a proctored, multiple-choice exam aimed at non-developers, developers, and all GitHub users — no coding is required. A score of 700 or greater (scale to 1000) passes. Explore the interface first with the exam sandbox and try the free practice assessment. If the exam isn't offered in your language, request an extra 30 minutes.
Objectives were added, removed, reworded, and reorganized in January 2026. Older prep material (and dumps) may reference the previous domain structure. These notes track the current seven-domain version. Trust the official study guide and its change log above all else.
Domain Weights
| Skill Area | Weight |
|---|---|
| Understand Git & GitHub basics | 25–30% |
| Work with GitHub repositories | 10–15% |
| Collaborate using GitHub | 10–15% |
| Apply modern development practices | 10–15% |
| Manage projects with GitHub | 5–10% |
| Understand privacy, security & administration | 10–15% |
| Explore the GitHub community | 5–10% |
Git & GitHub basics is the single biggest domain (25–30%). Master version control concepts, Git vs. GitHub, and the GitHub Flow first — it pays off the most. The three 10–15% domains (repositories, collaboration, modern development, security) together dominate the rest.
High-Yield Facts
- Git = distributed VCS on your machine; GitHub = cloud host for Git repos. Git works offline; GitHub doesn't.
- GitHub Flow order: branch → commit → open PR → review → merge → delete branch.
- Clone = local copy; Fork = your copy on GitHub (used to contribute upstream).
- CODEOWNERS auto-requests reviewers when owned files change.
- Closing keywords (fixes/closes/resolves #N) link and auto-close an issue when a PR merges to the default branch.
- Star = bookmark; Watch = notifications; Follow = a person's activity in your feed.
- Template repo = fresh start, no history; Fork = keeps history, linked upstream.
- Actions = event-driven YAML workflows (jobs → steps → actions on runners) for CI/CD and automation.
- github.dev = free lightweight editor, no terminal; Codespaces = full cloud dev environment that can run code.
- Copilot plans: Individual (one dev) → Business (org policy/license management) → Enterprise (deep GitHub.com integration).
- Repo visibility: Public (everyone), Private (invited), Internal (all enterprise members → InnerSource).
- Branch protection enforces reviews and passing checks before merge.
- Passkeys/security keys are the strongest auth; SMS is the weakest 2FA.
- EMUs are enterprise-provisioned accounts managed via an IdP (SSO + SCIM).
- Repo roles (low→high): Read, Triage, Write, Maintain, Admin.
- Projects layouts: Table, Board, Roadmap. Milestones show a progress bar.
- Gist = snippet; Wiki = repo docs; Pages = published website.
Common Traps & Distinctions
| Don't confuse… | Key difference |
|---|---|
| Git vs. GitHub | Tool vs. hosting platform. |
| Clone vs. Fork | Local copy vs. server-side copy under your account. |
| Fork vs. Template | Keeps history & upstream link vs. clean, independent start. |
| Star vs. Watch vs. Follow | Bookmark vs. repo notifications vs. a user's feed activity. |
| Issue vs. Discussion | Trackable actionable work vs. open-ended conversation. |
| github.dev vs. Codespaces | Lightweight editor (no compute) vs. full cloud dev environment. |
| Copilot Business vs. Enterprise | Org policy/license management vs. deep GitHub.com integration. |
| Private vs. Internal repo | Explicitly invited people vs. all enterprise members (InnerSource). |
| Assignee vs. Reviewer | Who's responsible vs. who's asked to review. |
A 2-Week Study Plan
Week 1 — Learn
- Complete GitHub Foundations Part 1 (Git, repos, collaboration).
- Complete GitHub Foundations Part 2 (Actions, Codespaces, Copilot, security, community).
- Do the GitHub Skills "Introduction to GitHub" hands-on course.
- Create a repo, branch, open a PR, and merge it yourself — practice beats memorization.
Week 2 — Reinforce & Test
- Read all seven skill-area pages on this site; focus on the tables and callouts.
- Take the free Microsoft practice assessment.
- Practice with GH Certified community questions.
- Review the High-Yield Facts and Common Traps the day before.
- Explore the exam sandbox so the interface is familiar.
Day-of Strategy
- Read carefully — watch for "NOT," "BEST," and "MOST secure" qualifiers.
- Eliminate wrong answers — two options are usually clearly off; decide between the remaining two.
- Flag & move on — don't burn time; mark tough items for review and return later.
- Scenario questions — map the situation to the right tool (e.g. "review from phone" → GitHub Mobile).
- Answer every question — there's no penalty for guessing.
- Mostly GA features are tested; Preview features may appear if commonly used.
Your certification and score report live in your Microsoft Learn profile. Add the badge to LinkedIn, and consider GH-500 (GitHub Advanced Security), GH-200 (GitHub Actions), or GH-300 (GitHub Copilot) as next steps.
Study Resources
- Official GH-900 Study Guide The authoritative skills-measured list and change log — read it first and last.
- GitHub Foundations Certification Page How to schedule the exam, pricing, and details.
- GitHub Foundations Learning Collection Every aligned Microsoft Learn module in one collection.
- GH Certified — Practice Questions Open-source community practice tests for GitHub Foundations.
- GitHub Skills Free hands-on interactive courses inside real repositories.