Frequently asked questions
Is this an official AWS product?
No. CirrusPrep is an independent, unofficial study aid. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Amazon Web Services, and it doesn't use AWS's logos or visual identity.
Is it actually free?
Yes, all of it — every question, every explanation, every practice mode, the leaderboard. There's a Buy Me a Coffee link after you pass a mock exam, but nothing on this site is ever gated behind it.
Do I need to create an account?
No. You can take a full mock exam as a guest with zero setup. If you want your result to survive a cleared browser or show up on another device, you can optionally set a nickname and an email + PIN — see the next question.
What is the email + PIN restore code? Is it a login?
It's a restore code, not a login. It exists purely to re-link a returning device to attempts you've already taken — it doesn't create an account, doesn't grant any special access, and doesn't get you anything a guest can't already do. We store a hash of the email and a hashed PIN, never the raw values, and restore attempts are rate-limited.
How is the score calculated, and can I trust the leaderboard?
Every answer is graded on the server against the question's stored answer key — the browser never receives that key until after you submit. The scaled score and pass/fail are computed server-side too, and the leaderboard is only ever updated from that graded result, never from anything the browser reports on its own.
Where do the practice questions come from?
Every question is written from the public AWS exam guide's domains and objectives — never copied or reconstructed from a real exam. Drafts go through an automated check pass and then an adversarial review (a second pass whose job is to argue the stored answer is wrong) before a human signs off and publishes it.
The exam only has a few questions right now — is that a bug?
No, that's just where the content pipeline currently is. Writing and reviewing good multiple-choice questions is slower than writing the app, so the question bank is still growing. Check the FAQ's sibling, the study guide, for the exam's real domain weighting in the meantime — that part doesn't change.
What's the difference between the timed mock, drills, and flashcards?
The timed mock simulates the real exam: a full domain-weighted question set, a countdown, and your score withheld until you submit. Untimed mock is the same set with no clock. Drills are single-domain practice with immediate right/wrong feedback per question. Flashcards are pure recall — read the question, flip to see the answer and explanation, no grading involved.
Can I remove my leaderboard entry?
Yes — nicknames are filtered on submission, but if something slips through or you'd just rather not be listed, it can be removed on request.
Unofficial study aid. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Amazon Web Services.