How to pass the GitHub Foundations Certification Exam with a 100% score (GH-900)

Whenever I prepare for an IT certification exam, I don’t aim to scrape by. I set myself up to own the exam room.

When I arrive at the testing center, or sign in to the remote proctoring app, I want to know exactly what’s coming. If you want to ace the test, approach it the same way.

That’s the mindset I used for other credentials, and it’s the same mindset I’ve adapted for the GitHub Foundations GH-900 exam.

GitHub Foundations GH-900 Exam

When I decided to get GitHub Foundations certified, I wanted to sit the GH-900 certification with the same confidence I had on earlier exams.

I also wanted a plan that could grow with me into roles that touch administration, development, DevOps, and solution design. GH-900 focuses on core collaboration skills, Git basics, product awareness, and how to work inside repositories as part of a modern team.

Over time I built a repeatable strategy that helped me pass multiple exams. If you’re targeting GH-900, here’s a five step plan that works.

1. Thoroughly read the stated exam objectives and align your study plan
2. Start with practice assessments to learn the question style
3. Take a structured course and reinforce with short labs
4. Do focused hands on projects that mirror the blueprint
5. Use the final weekend for full length practice tests and review

Add a calm exam day routine and you’ll greatly improve your chance of passing GH-900 on the first attempt. Here’s how I tailored this plan for GitHub Foundations.

Step 1: Read the exam topics

Begin with the officially stated, GH-900 exam objectives. The exam guide lists seven domains and weights.

• Introduction to Git and GitHub: 22%
• Working with GitHub Repositories: 8%
• Collaboration Features: 30%
• Modern Development: 13%
• Project Management: 7%
• Privacy, Security, and Administration: 10%
• Benefits of the GitHub Community: 10%

Expect fundamentals like what Git is and why it’s used, the basic Git workflow, local and remote repos, branching and merging, and core commands. Plan for navigation of the GitHub interface, issues, pull requests, and repository settings.

Collaboration shows up in forking, creating and reviewing pull requests, and using labels, milestones, and projects.

Modern development adds automation with Actions and healthy code review practices. Administration covers branch protection, permissions, teams, organizations, and security features. Community topics include discussions and open source participation.

Map each outcome to a small checklist. Keep a personal backlog and track progress domain by domain.

Step 2: Do practice exams before studying

Complete a practice assessment before you dive into lessons, and in fact, do as many practice exams as you can before you even start studying.

Integrate practice exams into your routine early.

If you could know all the questions on your test before you even started studying, wouldn’t that be an incredibly smart preparation approach?

Now practice exams aren’t the actual questions, but the give you a very good idea of what is on the exam, and they help you focus intently on the task at hand, which is getting certified.

Start doing practice exams early on in your learning journey.

There are hundreds of free GitHub Foundations exam questions here if you want to get started on your exam prep:

GitHub Foundations GH-900 Practice Exam Questions and Answers

When you’re ready for full simulated tests with explanations, this GitHub Actions Udemy course is highly recommended:

Udemy’s Official GitHub Foundations Certification Practice Exams.

Early practice helps you spot recurring phrases like most appropriate workflow, least risk, or best way to collaborate.

It also trains you to connect scenarios to the right feature, like when to use a fork, when to branch, or when to propose changes through a pull request.

Step 3: Take a course

Commit to a structured course that covers the full foundation

Use them to build fluency with repositories, issues, pull requests, project boards, Actions, and basic administration.

Step 4: Do simple hands on projects in GitHub

Hands on practice cements trade offs and builds muscle memory. Keep projects small and aligned to the blueprint.

• Create a repository, add a README, commit a change locally, and push. Open an issue to describe a small improvement.
• Create a feature branch, make a change, and open a pull request. Request a review and practice code comments and suggested changes.
• Turn on branch protection for main. Require pull requests and at least one approving review. See how that policy feels in practice.
• Set up a simple workflow with GitHub Actions that runs a basic check on push and on pull request. Watch the checks appear in the pull request.
• Create a project board for a tiny backlog. Add issues, apply labels and milestones, and move cards across columns to track progress.
• Enable Dependabot on a sample repo. Review an automated pull request and practice a safe merge.

These projects mirror GH-900 scenarios and prepare you for questions like which collaboration feature fits the requirement with the least friction or which control best protects the repository.

Step 5: Get serious about mock exams

When your study is solid, run full practice tests under time. Review every answer. Write down why the correct option works and why each distractor doesn’t. Repeat with a fresh set the next day.

Mix scenario questions about branching and merging with questions about permissions, Actions, and project boards. The variety keeps you sharp and exposes weak spots before exam day.

Your Exam Day Strategy

Use a steady routine and trust your preparation.

• Read each question carefully and watch for keywords like most secure, least effort, or best collaboration path.
• Eliminate clear distractors first, which often leaves two viable choices.
• Prefer simple and maintainable workflows when requirements allow, since they reduce confusion across the team.
• Complete a fast first pass and flag items to revisit. Use remaining time to analyze the tricky scenarios.
• Answer every question. A guess is better than leaving it blank.
• Track your time and aim to finish the first pass with at least twenty minutes left for review.
• Use later questions as clues. A later scenario sometimes clarifies an earlier one.

This approach helps you make two complete passes through the exam and finish with confidence. A clear plan lowers stress and raises the chance of a first time pass.