CompTIA Linux+ XK0-006 (V8) — the full course

Every lesson and every lab is free to read, mapped one-to-one to CompTIA’s published exam objectives. The paid tier adds the 508-question exam simulator; nothing is taken away from the free course to make room for it.

48written lessons

82hands-on labs

48audio episodes

508practice questions

What the exam weighs

Domain	Share of the exam	Lessons here
1. System Management	23%	13
2. Services and User Management	20%	10
3. Security	18%	11
4. Automation, Orchestration, and Scripting	17%	7
5. Troubleshooting	22%	5

The curriculum

1. System Management 23% of the exam

01 The boot process and the filesystem layout objective 1.1 part 1 of 2 audio episode
- Read the boot you just had short · 15 min
02 Distributions, architectures and licensing objective 1.1 part 2 of 2 audio episode
- Make a script work on both families applied · 40 min
- Identify a system you have been handed short · 15 min
03 The shell environment and redirection objective 1.5 part 1 of 2 audio episode
- Separate the two output streams short · 20 min
04 Essential shell utilities objective 1.5 part 2 of 2 audio episode
- Build a log report with no scripting language applied · 40 min
- Answer a question with a pipeline short · 25 min
14 Devices and kernel modules objective 1.2 part single audio episode
- Make a module setting survive a kernel update applied · 40 min
- Follow a device from hardware to driver short · 25 min
15 Logical Volume Manager objective 1.3 part 1 of 3 audio episode
- Grow a volume with the filesystem still mounted short · 30 min
16 Partitions and filesystems objective 1.3 part 2 of 3 audio episode
- Exhaust inodes on a disk that is nearly empty short · 30 min
17 RAID and mounted storage objective 1.3 part 3 of 3 audio episode
- Write an fstab entry that cannot stop the boot applied · 35 min
- Degrade an array and rebuild it short · 35 min
18 Network configuration objective 1.4 part 1 of 2 audio episode
- Change an address without losing the connection short · 30 min
19 Network command-line tools objective 1.4 part 2 of 2 audio episode
- Prove where the packet loss is applied · 40 min
- Diagnose a service you cannot reach short · 30 min
30 Backup and restore objective 1.6 part single audio episode
- Prove a backup by restoring it applied · 45 min
- Restore is the only test that counts short · 30 min
31 Hypervisors and virtual machines objective 1.7 part 1 of 2 audio episode
- Confirm virtualisation and choose the right driver short · 25 min
32 VM images, snapshots and networking objective 1.7 part 2 of 2 audio episode
- Give a guest the right network for its job applied · 40 min
- Domain 1 capstone -- provision a server end to end capstone · 90 min
- Clone a template without cloning its identity short · 30 min

2. Services and User Management 20% of the exam

05 Files, directories and links objective 2.1 part single audio episode
- Reclaim a filesystem that df and du disagree about applied · 35 min
- Watch a hard link and a symlink behave differently short · 20 min
06 Creating and modifying user accounts objective 2.2 part 1 of 2 audio episode
- Remove someone from sudo by accident, then fix it short · 20 min
07 Account files and attributes objective 2.2 part 2 of 2 audio episode
- Offboard a departing employee properly applied · 40 min
- Audit a machine from its account files short · 20 min
09 Inspecting processes objective 2.3 part 1 of 2 audio episode
- Make a zombie and a D-state process short · 25 min
10 Jobs, signals and scheduling objective 2.3 part 2 of 2 audio episode
- Find what is holding a mount point open applied · 30 min
- Watch a graceful shutdown and an abrupt one short · 20 min
11 Package management objective 2.4 part 1 of 2 audio episode
- Recover from a broken package state applied · 40 min
- Ask the package database four questions short · 20 min
12 Building software from source objective 2.4 part 2 of 2 audio episode
- Build one thing, and plan its removal first short · 35 min
13 systemd and services objective 2.5 part single audio episode
- Convert a cron job into a timer that reports failure applied · 40 min
- Write a unit, then break it four ways short · 30 min
34 Container images and runtimes objective 2.6 part 1 of 2 audio episode
- Build an image and debug one that will not start short · 30 min
35 Container volumes and networks objective 2.6 part 2 of 2 audio episode
- Run a two-tier app with Compose, safely applied · 45 min
- Domain 2 capstone -- run a service the way it should be run capstone · 90 min
- Lose a database, then keep it with a volume short · 30 min

3. Security 18% of the exam

08 File permissions, ownership and ACLs objective 3.3 part 1 of 5 audio episode
- Delete a file you cannot write short · 20 min
20 Firewalls objective 3.2 part single audio episode
- Turn a host into a router with NAT applied · 45 min
- Add a rule that survives a reload short · 25 min
21 Authentication, authorization and accounting objective 3.1 part single audio episode
- Make logs survive an attacker with root applied · 40 min
- Read a PAM stack and predict its behaviour short · 30 min
22 Privilege escalation with sudo and su objective 3.3 part 2 of 5 audio episode
- Grant one command, then watch it become root short · 30 min
23 Securing SSH and remote access objective 3.3 part 3 of 5 audio episode
- Move to keys and close the door behind you short · 30 min
24 Hardening a Linux system objective 3.3 part 4 of 5 audio episode
- Ban an attacker and audit for a backdoor short · 30 min
25 SELinux and mandatory access control objective 3.3 part 5 of 5 audio episode
- Harden a fresh host and prove each control applied · 50 min
- Serve a file SELinux will not let you serve short · 30 min
26 Account hardening objective 3.4 part single audio episode
- Require two factors for SSH applied · 45 min
- Enforce password policy that actually holds short · 30 min
27 Cryptography on Linux objective 3.5 part single audio episode
- Inspect and tighten a TLS service applied · 40 min
- Encrypt a volume and destroy it by its key short · 35 min
28 Vulnerability scanning and benchmarks objective 3.6 part 1 of 2 audio episode
- Tell a real vulnerability from a version-string false positive short · 30 min
29 File integrity and secure destruction objective 3.6 part 2 of 2 audio episode
- Prove that shred does not erase an SSD applied · 35 min
- Domain 3 capstone -- secure, verify, and prove a host capstone · 90 min
- Baseline a system and catch a tampered binary short · 30 min

4. Automation, Orchestration, and Scripting 17% of the exam

36 Bash scripting fundamentals objective 4.2 part 1 of 2 audio episode
- Meet the quoting and subshell traps head on short · 30 min
37 Bash tests, operators and variables objective 4.2 part 2 of 2 audio episode
- Write a robust argument-parsing script applied · 40 min
- Watch a disk alert fail at 100 percent short · 25 min
38 Python for system administration objective 4.3 part single audio episode
- Rewrite a fragile shell script in Python applied · 45 min
- Set up a venv and avoid breaking the system Python short · 25 min
39 Version control with Git objective 4.4 part single audio episode
- Recover a secret that was committed and pushed applied · 40 min
- Version-control a config directory and recover from mistakes short · 30 min
40 Infrastructure as code with Ansible and Puppet objective 4.1 part 1 of 2 audio episode
- Write an idempotent Ansible playbook short · 35 min
41 CI/CD and container orchestration objective 4.1 part 2 of 2 audio episode
- Build a pipeline that stops a bad change applied · 45 min
- Domain 4 capstone -- from commit to running service capstone · 100 min
- Run a Kubernetes deployment and break its service short · 35 min
42 Responsible use of AI in Linux administration objective 4.5 part single audio episode
- Run a local model on data that cannot leave applied · 40 min
- Verify generated output before you run it short · 25 min

5. Troubleshooting 22% of the exam

44 Monitoring and logging objective 5.1 part single audio episode
- Instrument a service against an SLO applied · 45 min
- Build an alert that is actionable, not noise short · 30 min
45 Troubleshooting hardware and storage objective 5.2 part single audio episode
- Recover a machine that will not boot applied · 45 min
- Diagnose the storage failures by their signatures short · 35 min
46 Troubleshooting networking objective 5.3 part single audio episode
- Find why one host can reach a service and another cannot applied · 45 min
- Work the layers to find where it breaks short · 30 min
47 Troubleshooting security objective 5.4 part single audio episode
- Restore a service SELinux is silently blocking applied · 45 min
- Read a permission denial down to its cause short · 30 min
48 Troubleshooting performance objective 5.5 part single audio episode
- Chase a latency regression to its process applied · 50 min
- Bring a broken service back under an incident clock capstone · 75 min
- Name the resource before you tune anything short · 30 min

Supplementary not examined — background reading

33 Installing Linux part single audio episode
- Write install media safely and verify the image short · 25 min
43 The troubleshooting methodology part single audio episode
- Solve a staged fault by the method short · 30 min

The exam simulator

508 questions, every one mapped to an objective and to the lesson that teaches it. Timed full-length papers drawn to the real domain split, retakes weighted to your weak areas, and a readiness report from your own results.

Open the simulator See the paid tier

This is an independent study companion for CompTIA Linux+ XK0-006 and is not produced by or endorsed by CompTIA.