I have a confession to make: I failed my first attempt at the GitHub Foundations (GH-900) exam.

Despite having hands-on experience with Git and taking a dedicated DataCamp course, I walked out of that first exam humbled. But looking back, failing was the best thing that could have happened to my development career.

The First Attempt: A Reality Check

I went in confident. I knew how to commit, push, pull, and manage branches. I thought I was ready.

But the exam threw curveballs I wasn’t expecting. It wasn’t just about “using Git”; it was about the entire GitHub ecosystem.

The questions drilled deep into:

• GitHub Enterprise: Management, billing, and organization structures I had never touched as a solo dev.
• GitHub Actions: Specific syntax and workflow configurations that went far beyond simple CI scripts.

I realized my knowledge was “practical” but narrow. I knew how to code, but I didn’t know how to administer and automate at an enterprise scale.

The Rabbit Hole: Going Deep

After the failure, I didn’t just want to pass; I wanted to master it. I pivoted to the official Microsoft Learn documentation and decided to explore every single feature GitHub offers.

I built multiple projects solely to test features I’d ignored:

• Configuring complex Branch Protection Rules.
• Setting up Code Owners to enforce review policies.
• Diving into GitHub Projects for agile management.
• Writing intricate GitHub Actions workflows.

The Second Attempt: Mastery

When I sat for the exam the second time, it was a completely different experience. I didn’t just know the answers; I understood the why behind them. I passed with an excellent score.

However, I still have one critique.

The Missing Piece: The Command Line

Ironically, the one area where I was strongest—the Git CLI—was barely present.

The exam focuses heavily on the web interface and platform features. It asks about button clicks in settings menus but skips the nitty-gritty of git rebase -i or git cherry-pick. If you’re a command-line warrior, don’t expect that to save you here.

What the Exam Actually Covers

If you’re planning to take GH-900, know that “Foundations” is a bit of a misnomer. It covers a lot of ground.

1. GitHub Actions (The Big One)

You need to understand CI/CD pipelines inside and out.

It’s not enough to know what it is; you need to know how to read a YAML workflow file, understand triggers (on: push, on: pull_request), and manage secrets.

2. GitHub Enterprise & Security

Expect questions on:

• SAML SSO: How authentication works in big orgs.
• Dependabot: How to configure automated security updates.
• Secret Scanning: What happens when you accidentally commit an API key.

Conclusion

Failing the GH-900 pushed me down a rabbit hole that expanded my skills far beyond just “version control.” The extra knowledge I gained—especially in automation and project management—has been invaluable in my recent projects.

If you fail, don’t be discouraged. Use it as a roadmap for what you still need to learn. The destination is worth it.