# Resources

Official exam guides, registration, documentation, free courses and background reading for all four certifications.

## Official programme

| Resource | URL |
| --- | --- |
| Anthropic Partner Academy (registration, exam guides, prep courses, FAQ) | `https://anthropic-partners.skilljar.com/` |
| CCAO-F certification page | `https://anthropic-partners.skilljar.com/claude-certified-associate-foundations-certification` |
| CCDV-F certification page | `https://anthropic-partners.skilljar.com/claude-certified-developer-foundations-certification` |
| CCAR-F certification page | `https://anthropic-partners.skilljar.com/claude-certified-architect-foundations-certification` |
| CCAR-P certification page | `https://anthropic-partners.skilljar.com/claude-certified-architect-professional-certification` |
| Pearson VUE – Anthropic programme (scheduling, OnVUE, retake policy) | `https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/anthropic.html` |
| Claude Partner Network (join free) | `https://claude.com/partners` |
| Certification support (name corrections) | `certifications-support@anthropic.com` |

Download the current **Exam Guide PDF** for your exam from its Partner Academy page before booking; blueprints and weights can change between versions (this site reflects v1.0, July 2026).

## Free training (Anthropic Academy on Skilljar)

`https://anthropic.skilljar.com/`

| Course | Most relevant to |
| --- | --- |
| Claude 101 | CCAO-F |
| AI Capabilities and Limitations | CCAO-F |
| AI Fluency (role tracks) | CCAO-F |
| Building with the Claude API | CCDV-F, CCAR-F, CCAR-P |
| Introduction to Model Context Protocol | CCDV-F, CCAR-F |
| MCP: Advanced Topics | CCAR-F, CCAR-P |
| Claude Code in Action / Claude Code 101 | CCDV-F, CCAR-F, CCAR-P |
| Introduction to Agent Skills | CCDV-F, CCAR-F |
| Introduction to Subagents | CCDV-F, CCAR-F |
| Claude with Amazon Bedrock / Google Vertex AI | CCAR-P |

## Documentation

### Claude API and platform – `platform.claude.com/docs/en/`

- Models overview · Pricing · Model deprecations · Fable 5.1 migration guide
- Messages API · Streaming · Handling stop reasons · Refusals and fallback
- Tool use overview · Tool search tool · Programmatic tool calling · Memory tool · MCP connector
- Thinking · Preserved thinking · Effort · Task budgets · Mid-conversation system messages
- Prompt caching · Cache diagnostics · Context editing · Compaction
- Structured outputs · Citations · Vision · PDF support · Files API
- Message Batches · Rate limits · Errors
- Managed Agents overview · `ant` CLI · Admin API
- Prompt engineering guide

### Claude Code – `code.claude.com/docs/en/`

- Overview · CLI reference · Settings · Memory and CLAUDE.md
- Subagents · Skills · Commands · Hooks · Plugins · MCP
- Agent teams · Dynamic workflows · Routines
- Claude Agent SDK overview (`/agent-sdk/`)
- Changelog: `https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md`

### Model Context Protocol – `modelcontextprotocol.io`

- Introduction · Specification · Transports · Authorization
- Python SDK (`mcp`, FastMCP) · TypeScript SDK (`@modelcontextprotocol/sdk`)

## Background reading (Anthropic engineering and research)

| Title | Why it matters |
| --- | --- |
| Building Effective Agents | The workflow-vs-agent framing and the six patterns the Architect exams test |
| Effective Context Engineering for AI Agents | Context economics, compaction, isolation |
| Advanced Tool Use | Tool search, programmatic tool calling, description quality |
| Anthropic Usage Policy | Appropriate vs inappropriate use (Associate and Professional governance domains) |

## Community study material (unofficial)

| Resource | Notes |
| --- | --- |
| `github.com/dnacenta/claude-certified-architect` | Actively maintained CCAR-F deep dive with sibling-exam overviews; September 2026 refresh |
| `github.com/SGridworks/claude-certified-architect-training` | 12-week training programme |

Community material is helpful but unofficial. When it disagrees with the live documentation or the current Exam Guide, the official sources win.

## How to verify facts live

```python
from anthropic import Anthropic
client = Anthropic()

for m in client.models.list():
    print(m.id, m.display_name)

info = client.models.retrieve("claude-opus-5")
print(info.max_input_tokens, info.max_tokens, info.capabilities)
```

Use this before an exam to confirm the lineup, and in production instead of hard-coding limits.

## Annotated reading list

Read in this order; each builds on the last. Annotations say *why* an item earns your time and *which exam objective* it serves.

| # | Read | Why it earns your time | Serves |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **Building Effective Agents** (Anthropic) | The canonical workflow-vs-agent framing and the six composable patterns. Almost every Architect "which pattern" item traces here. Note the repeated advice to prefer the *simplest* design. | F, P (D1) |
| 2 | **Effective Context Engineering for AI Agents** | Context as a budgeted resource: compaction vs editing, isolation via subagents, why long context is not free. Underlies reliability items. | F, P (D5) |
| 3 | **Advanced Tool Use** (Anthropic engineering) | Tool description quality, tool search, `defer_loading`, programmatic tool calling, parallel calls. The "why won't it call my tool" answers live here. | D, F (D4/D5) |
| 4 | **Messages API + Handling stop reasons** docs | The one field every loop branches on; the full `stop_reason` set and correct handling. | D, F (D1/D3) |
| 5 | **Prompt caching + Context editing** docs | Break-even math, breakpoint layout, server-side trimming for append-only models. | D, F, P |
| 6 | **Fable 5.1 migration guide** | The breaking-change cluster (forced tools, thinking binding, append-only, retention) that seeds many distractors. | D, F, P (D2) |
| 7 | **MCP Specification + Authorization** | Primitives, transports, capability negotiation, OAuth 2.1/PKCE, identity propagation. | D, F (D4) |
| 8 | **Claude Code: Memory, Hooks, Subagents, Skills** docs | The configuration hierarchy and the enforcement-via-hooks principle; Skill-vs-CLAUDE.md-vs-command-vs-subagent-vs-MCP decision. | F, P (D2) |
| 9 | **Anthropic Usage Policy** | Appropriate vs inappropriate use, disclosure, high-risk domains. | A, P (governance) |
| 10 | **RAG / retrieval docs + reranking guidance** | Chunking, hybrid retrieval, reranking, retrieval-vs-generation eval separation. | P (D3) |
| 11 | **Anthropic evals guidance** | Golden sets, rubric grading, LLM-as-judge in a separate session, pairwise A/B, per-segment reporting. | D, P (D4/D8) |

:::tip[Reading discipline]
Read for the *decision rule*, not the prose. After each item, write the one-sentence "signal → choice" you extracted and add it to your Lexique review. If you cannot state the rule, re-read that section.
:::

## Per-domain documentation deep links

Jump straight to the doc that owns each blueprint domain. Paths are under `platform.claude.com/docs/en/` (API) and `code.claude.com/docs/en/` (Claude Code) unless noted.

### CCAO-F (Associate – Foundations)

| Domain | Primary docs / courses |
| --- | --- |
| D1 Prompting & Task Execution | Prompt engineering guide; Academy *Claude 101* |
| D2 Output Evaluation & Validation | *AI Capabilities and Limitations*; hallucination and provenance guidance |
| D3 Product & Model Selection | Models overview; Pricing; claude.ai vs Desktop vs Code |
| D4 Workflow Integration & Solution Design | *AI Fluency*; Projects and Connectors overview |
| D5 Configuration & Knowledge Management | Projects, custom instructions, knowledge files; Memory (product) |
| D6 Governance, Risk & Responsible Use | Usage Policy; data handling; disclosure guidance |
| D7 Troubleshooting & Optimization | Prompt engineering: iterating; when to escalate to a developer |

### CCDV-F (Developer – Foundations)

| Domain | Primary docs |
| --- | --- |
| D1 Applications & Integration | Messages API; Streaming; Vision; PDF; Files API; Errors; Rate limits |
| D2 Model Selection & Optimization | Models; Pricing; Prompt caching; Message Batches; Effort; Thinking |
| D3 Agents & Workflows | Tool use; Building Effective Agents; Subagents |
| D4 Prompt & Context Engineering | Prompt engineering guide; Context editing; Compaction |
| D5 Tools & MCPs | Tool use overview; Tool search; MCP intro; MCP connector |
| D6 Security & Safety | Prompt injection; Usage Policy; permissions/hooks |
| D7 Claude Code | Claude Code overview; CLI reference; headless mode |
| D8 Eval, Testing & Debugging | Evals guidance; structured outputs; traces |

### CCAR-F (Architect – Foundations)

| Domain | Primary docs |
| --- | --- |
| D1 Agentic Architecture & Orchestration | Building Effective Agents; Subagents; Dynamic workflows; Agent teams |
| D2 Claude Code Configuration & Workflows | Memory/CLAUDE.md; Settings; Hooks; Skills; Commands; Plan mode; Plugins |
| D3 Prompt Engineering & Structured Output | Prompt engineering; Structured outputs; `strict`; validation-retry |
| D4 Tool Design & MCP Integration | Advanced Tool Use; MCP Specification; Authorization; MCP inspector |
| D5 Context Management & Reliability | Context engineering; Context editing; Compaction; stop reasons; retries |

### CCAR-P (Architect – Professional)

| Domain | Primary docs |
| --- | --- |
| D1 Solution Design & Architecture | Building Effective Agents; Managed Agents vs Agent SDK; ADR practice |
| D2 Claude Models, Prompting & Context | Models; Fable 5.1 migration; Prompt caching; Context editing |
| D3 Integration (RAG) | RAG/retrieval docs; hybrid search; reranking; citations |
| D4 Evaluation, Testing & Optimization | Evals guidance; A/B and significance; CI regression; observability |
| D5 Governance, Safety & Risk | Usage Policy; GDPR/HIPAA/FedRAMP; ZDR; DPIA; guardrail layering |
| D6 Stakeholder Communication & Lifecycle | Solution lifecycle; decision matrices; SLO/SLA; runbooks |
| D7 Developer Productivity & Operational Enablement | Claude Code settings; managed policy; team onboarding; plugins |

:::note[Verify live]
Documentation URLs and course names change. If a link 404s, search the Partner Academy and `platform.claude.com/docs` rather than trusting a saved path — and always confirm the current Exam Guide weights before booking.
:::