Independent study overview. Algorims is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic; trademarks belong to their owners.
Your passport to building production AI with Claude.
CCA-F is designed to assess foundational Claude architecture knowledge for practitioners at Anthropic Partner companies. This overview summarizes the public study areas and points you to official Anthropic resources.
Study overview
CCA-F resources
Certification domains
Scenarios
Practice promptsSupport automation
Developer workflow
Research orchestration
Productivity automation
CI/CD assistance
Document extraction
What is the CCA-F certification, really?
No jargon. If you're new to AI certifications, start here.
What is Claude?
Claude is Anthropic's AI model — similar to ChatGPT but built for developers who want to embed AI into real products. Think of it as a very capable digital brain you can program to do complex tasks.
What does this certification assess?
It focuses on the systems behind an AI product — not just day-to-day chatbot use. Think: agent workflows, tool boundaries, structured output, and reliability tradeoffs.
Who is this for?
Practitioners at Anthropic Partner companies ready to demonstrate applied expertise. Think developers, architects, and technical leads — ~301 level, hands-on Claude experience required.
Where your study time should go.
Weightages published by Anthropic
Practice common production scenarios.
Use these as study prompts for the major domain combinations. The official certification page remains the source of truth for exam structure.
Domains tested
Support automation
Practice designing agents that resolve user requests, call tools, and escalate when confidence is low.
Domains tested
Developer workflow
Practice configuring Claude Code, team conventions, and context management for codebase work.
Domains tested
Research orchestration
Practice coordinating specialist agents, tool access, source handling, and synthesis.
Domains tested
Productivity automation
Practice choosing tool boundaries, prompts, and workflows for repeated knowledge-work tasks.
Domains tested
CI/CD assistance
Practice using structured output, review criteria, and non-interactive execution in pipelines.
Domains tested
Document extraction
Practice schema design, validation, retry handling, and reliable context use for messy inputs.
A practical study path, step by step.
No matter your background — developer, tech lead, or just curious — here's a study path that prioritises the highest-weight topics first.
Understand what Claude actually is
Claude is Anthropic's AI model. This certification tests whether you can architect real systems with it — not just chat. Start at Anthropic Academy.
Work through the Anthropic Skilljar catalog
Skilljar hosts the full Academy catalog — from L100 foundations (Claude 101, AI Fluency) through L200 intermediate (MCP, Claude Code in Action, Bedrock, Vertex AI) to L300 advanced topics. Complete the tracks relevant to your role before attempting the certification.
Deep-dive Domain 1 first (27%)
Agentic Architecture is the biggest slice of the certification. Master agentic loops, coordinator-subagent patterns, hooks, and session management.
Study Domains 3 & 4 together (20% each)
Claude Code workflows and Prompt Engineering together cover 40% of scored content. Practice CI/CD integration and structured output with JSON schemas.
Cover Domain 2 & 5 (18% + 15%)
Tool design, MCP integration, context management, and reliability patterns. Study scenario 1 (Customer Support) — it covers all three.
Practice scenario-style questions
Use the scenario prompts below to test domain combinations. Build mini-projects for at least two workflows before sitting the certification.
Everything you need to prepare.
All links go to official Anthropic sources. Start with the access request, then the Academy course — everything else builds on those.
Request Certification Access
Exclusive for Anthropic Partners. Register here to access the CCA-F — 60 MCQ, 120 min, $125/attempt.
OpenTake the Certification
Official CCA-F page on Anthropic's Partner Skilljar platform. Register and pay here, then watch for two Pearson VUE emails (username + temporary password) to schedule your exam — the test itself is delivered by Pearson, not on Skilljar.
OpenSchedule Your Exam (Pearson VUE)
After registering on Skilljar, sign in here to set your password and book online proctoring or an in-person test center slot. 60 MCQ, 120 minutes.
OpenAI Fluency: Framework & Foundations
Learn to collaborate with AI systems effectively, efficiently, ethically, and safely. For professionals and personal use.
OpenClaude 101
Learn how to use Claude for everyday work tasks, understand core features, and explore resources for more advanced learning.
OpenClaude with Amazon Bedrock
Introduction to Anthropic models on Bedrock — setup, authentication, prompt engineering and evaluations. First 4 sections.
OpenClaude with Google Cloud Vertex AI
Introduction to Anthropic models on Vertex AI — setup, authentication, prompt engineering and evaluations. First 4 sections.
OpenBuilding with the Claude API (Foundations)
Authentication, basic prompting, and core functionality including prompt engineering and evaluations. First 4 sections.
OpenIntroduction to Model Context Protocol
Build MCP servers and clients from scratch using Python. Master tools, resources, and prompts to connect Claude with external services.
OpenClaude with Amazon Bedrock (Advanced)
Advanced Bedrock topics including tool use, RAG, building agents, production patterns and optimization techniques.
OpenClaude with Google Cloud Vertex AI (Advanced)
Advanced Vertex AI topics including tool use, RAG, building agents, production patterns and optimization techniques.
OpenBuilding with the Claude API (Advanced)
Advanced API topics including tool use, RAG, building agents, production patterns and optimization techniques.
OpenClaude Code in Action
Practical guide to integrating Claude Code into development workflows — context management, hooks, custom commands and the Agent SDK.
OpenModel Context Protocol: Advanced Topics
Advanced MCP patterns including sampling, notifications, file system access, and transport mechanisms for production server development.
OpenAnthropic Academy
Official learning hub. Start here — complete the free course before anything else.
OpenClaude API Documentation
Complete API reference for messages, tools, streaming, and model configuration.
OpenClaude Code Docs
CLAUDE.md, slash commands, skills, plan mode, and CI/CD integration guide.
OpenModel Context Protocol (MCP)
Official MCP specification — tool and resource interfaces for backend integration.
OpenClaude Agent SDK
Build multi-agent systems with coordinator-subagent patterns and lifecycle hooks.
OpenWho is this certification built for?
The CCA-F is exclusive to practitioners at Anthropic Partner companies — a ~301 level certification for those with foundational knowledge who are ready to demonstrate deeper, applied expertise in Claude systems.
Python or TypeScript
The exam scenarios assume you can read and reason about code. You don't need to memorise syntax, but you need to understand it.
Comfortable with JSON
Tool schemas, API payloads, and structured output all use JSON. You should be able to read and write it without looking it up.
Anthropic Partner company
Access is restricted to practitioners at verified Anthropic Partner organisations. Not yet a partner? Apply at anthropic.com/partners.
Architectural thinking
This exam is about tradeoffs and decisions, not memorisation. If you've designed systems — even small ones — you'll find this natural.
Certification resource