Airflow Fundamentals
Apache Airflow 3 Fundamentals
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ExploreAbout this exam
The Level 1 Apache Airflow 3 Fundamentals credential is an entry-level certification offered by Astronomer, the company behind the Astro platform, through its Astronomer Academy. It is designed for practitioners with roughly three or more months of hands-on Airflow experience who want to demonstrate that they understand core Airflow concepts and can build, schedule, and monitor basic pipelines. The exam is built on Airflow 3, so preparing for it also exposes candidates to the biggest release in the project's history, including assets, Dag versioning, and the new architecture. Coverage spans the Airflow UI and CLI, common use cases, writing, scheduling and debugging Dags, Dag dependencies, Dag runs, architecture components, basic operators such as the PythonOperator, and the basics of XCom, Connections, Variables and Sensors. Astronomer positions Fundamentals as the first step in a certification path, with DAG Authoring as the natural next level once you are writing pipelines day to day. Preparation is self-directed: Astronomer points candidates to a free prep course on Astronomer Academy, and recommends creating an account, working through that course, and sitting the exam when ready. This guide is independent study material and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Astronomer or the Apache Software Foundation.
What you'll study
About Airflow Fundamentals preparation
What is the exam format?
It is a multiple-choice exam of 75 questions, delivered in English, with 60 minutes to complete it. Astronomer lists a passing score of 70%, which works out to 53 of 75 correct for the Airflow 3 exams. Plan roughly 48 seconds per question and flag anything slow for a second pass.
How hard is the Fundamentals exam?
It is pitched at beginners: Astronomer recommends 3+ months of hands-on Airflow experience. Questions test concepts and basic pipeline building rather than deep optimization. The main difficulty is breadth across nine topic areas plus the 60-minute limit, so practise recalling UI, CLI and scheduling behaviour quickly.
How much does it cost?
The listed cost is $150 USD per exam. The source does not state whether a retake is included or discounted, so budget for a possible second attempt. Confirm current pricing on Astronomer Academy before paying, since published details can change.
How long do I have to take the exam after enrolling?
You have 30 days to take it once you enroll. Use that window deliberately: book a date early in the period, work through the free prep course first, and leave at least a week for practice on your own Airflow environment rather than letting the window expire unused.
Is there a retake policy or validity period?
Astronomer's certification page does not publish a retake policy or a badge validity period for this exam. Treat both as unconfirmed and ask Astronomer Academy support directly before you rely on either when planning your study timeline or renewals.
What should I study first?
Start with Dag authoring, scheduling and Dag runs, since those underpin dependencies, operators and XCom. Then cover architecture components and the UI, and finish with the CLI, which is easiest to absorb once you understand what the components do. Astronomer's free prep course on Academy is the recommended baseline.
What topics does it cover?
Nine areas: the Airflow UI, the Airflow CLI, Airflow use cases, writing, scheduling and debugging Dags, Dag dependencies, Dag runs, architecture components, basic operators such as PythonOperator, and the basics of XCom, Connections, Variables and Sensors. Domain weightings are not published, so study evenly rather than guessing priorities.
What are common failure modes?
Two stand out: losing time to a handful of tricky questions and leaving easy ones unanswered, and shallow knowledge of the UI and CLI, which are easy to skip when you normally only write Python. Also watch for confusing scheduling concepts such as logical dates and catchup, which frequently trip up newer users.
What comes after Fundamentals?
Astronomer offers Level 2 Apache Airflow 3 DAG Authoring, aimed at people writing pipelines day to day and recommended for 6+ months of experience, covering assets, dynamic task mapping, TaskFlow, templating and branching. There is also a separate AI Orchestration Fundamentals exam with its own, higher passing score.