You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
PALO ALTO NETWORKSPalo Alto Networks Certified XSOAR Engineer
The Palo Alto Networks Certified XSOAR Engineer certification validates the skills required to deploy, configure, manage, integrate, and troubleshoot Cortex XSOAR in security operations environments. It is designed for experienced security operations engineers who build and maintain automation and orchestration solutions. Earning this credential demonstrates your ability to streamline SOC workflows and respond to threats faster.
Exam formatMultiple choice and performance-based
DeliveryPearson VUE
Free questions721
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What Palo Alto Networks Certified XSOAR Engineer proves, and what it asks of you
What this certification covers, who it is written for, and what the exam itself looks like on the day.
5domains
33objectives
186concepts
$250.00exam fee
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
About this certification
The Palo Alto Networks Certified XSOAR Engineer certification validates the knowledge and skills required for experienced security operations engineers to deploy, configure, manage, integrate, and troubleshoot Cortex XSOAR solutions in security operations environments. This Specialist-level credential confirms your ability to onboard data sources, build playbooks, automate responses, and manage the full lifecycle of security automation content.
Earning this certification demonstrates that you can turn complex security operations workflows into reliable, automated processes. You will be equipped to handle real-world challenges such as integrating diverse security tools, scripting automation logic, and maintaining content across environments. This credential is a mark of expertise for professionals who drive efficiency and effectiveness in modern SOCs.
Who it’s for
This certification is designed for security operations engineers, security engineers, XSOAR specialists, SOC engineers, automation engineers, playbook developers, security architects, and support engineers who are responsible for deploying, configuring, integrating, managing, and troubleshooting Cortex XSOAR environments. If you are an experienced professional who works hands-on with security automation and orchestration, and you want to validate your ability to build and maintain effective SOC workflows, this certification is for you.
Recommended experience
Palo Alto Networks recommends that candidates have hands-on experience with Cortex XSOAR, including deployment, configuration, integration, playbook creation, and automation scripting. Reviewing the certification datasheet and completing the digital learning path and instructor-led training is also recommended. Experience deploying and configuring Cortex XSOAR in a security operations environment; Hands-on experience with playbook creation and automation scripting; Knowledge of content lifecycle management and system troubleshooting; Familiarity with integrating Cortex XSOAR with other security tools
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective Palo Alto Networks measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official Palo Alto Networks exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
Planning, Installation, and Maintenance
- 1.1 Demonstrate knowledge of planning and configuring system authentication and authorization
- 1.2 Explain the process of planning and deploying engines
- 1.3 Explain the process of planning and managing a dev/prod deployment
- 1.4 Demonstrate knowledge of managing Marketplace pack installations and version updates
- 1.5 Identify and describe configuration and troubleshooting integration instances
- 1.6 Explain the process of maintaining and troubleshooting the system
Use Case Planning and Development
- 2.1 Demonstrate understanding of incident and indicator lifecycles
- 2.2 Explain field and layout configuration
- 2.3 Demonstrate understanding of classifier and mapper configuration
- 2.4 Identify and describe incident creation methods
- 2.5 Identify and describe incident preprocessing and postprocessing functions
- 2.6 Demonstrate knowledge of incident type playbooks, layouts, and SLAs
- 2.7 Explain list configuration and management
Playbook Development
- 3.1 Explain playbook task input and output configuration and results
- 3.2 Explain the process of referencing and manipulating context data to manage automation workflow
- 3.3 Identify and describe the various playbook task types
- 3.4 Demonstrate understanding of sub-playbook (inputs, outputs, looping) configuration
- 3.5 Explain the process of applying filters and transformers to manipulate data in playbook tasks
- 3.6 Explain the process of applying playbook debugger in development and troubleshooting
- 3.7 Identify and describe built-ins, commands, and scripts
- 3.8 Explain the process of creating and applying automation scripts
- 3.9 Explain job creation and management
Incident Interactions and Reporting
- 4.1 Explain incident states and actions
- 4.2 Demonstrate understanding of War Room activities
- 4.3 Explain incident relationships
- 4.4 Demonstrate understanding of dashboard and report configuration
Threat Intelligence Management
- 5.1 Identify and describe threat intelligence features
- 5.2 Explain indicator creation methods
- 5.3 Explain the process of indicator configuration
- 5.4 Explain indicator relationships
- 5.5 Demonstrate knowledge of indicator enrichment and source reliability
- 5.6 Explain threat intel sharing with external security services
- 5.7 Demonstrate understanding of indicator exclusions list configuration and management
On the day
The exam itself
Everything Palo Alto Networks publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
No mandatory prerequisites — this certification has no required predecessor exam or credential.
CertificationPalo Alto Networks Certified XSOAR Engineer
Exam formatMultiple choice and performance-based
DeliveryPearson VUE
LanguagesEnglish
Pricing$250.00
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path Palo Alto Networks lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to Palo Alto Networks Certified XSOAR Engineer
Credential earnedPalo Alto Networks Certified XSOAR Engineer Certification Renewal and maintenance
Palo Alto Networks certifications are valid for two years from the date of passing the exam. To maintain the certification, you must pass the current version of the exam before the expiration date. No other renewal method is published. Stay current with the latest technologies and maintain your certification.
Learn more about renewal requirements Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. Palo Alto Networks maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by Palo Alto Networks
Exam registration
Register for the exam through Pearson VUE, Palo Alto Networks’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official Palo Alto Networks certification page for exam policies and requirements.
View the official pageYour coach
And when you are serious, your coach Pip takes over
Your coach in the app reads what you have answered with the book closed and tells you one thing to do tonight. It will not count an answer you gave with the page open, and it will tell you when you are not ready.
See how the coach worksBefore you book
Questions people ask
Is the XSOAR Engineer certification part of a larger certification path?
The XSOAR Engineer certification is a Specialist-level credential within the Security Operations track. Palo Alto Networks also offers Analyst-level certifications (e.g., XSIAM Analyst, XDR Analyst) and an Architect-level Security Operations Architect certification, but no formal prerequisite or successor is published for the XSOAR Engineer credential.
What is the retake policy if I fail the exam?
Palo Alto Networks does not publicly disclose a specific retake policy for this exam. Refer to the Certification Handbook or contact Pearson VUE for the most current retake rules.
Are there any hands-on or lab-based components in the exam?
The official certification page does not specify whether the exam includes hands-on labs. It is recommended to review the certification datasheet for detailed exam content and format information.
How soon will I receive my exam results?
Palo Alto Networks does not publish a specific timeline for score reporting. Typically, results are available immediately after the exam for computer-based tests, but you should confirm with Pearson VUE.
What job roles does this certification align with?
This certification is designed for security operations engineers, security engineers, XSOAR specialists, SOC engineers, automation engineers, playbook developers, security architects, and support engineers who work with Cortex XSOAR.
Can I recertify by passing a different Palo Alto Networks exam?
Palo Alto Networks does not publish a policy that allows recertification by passing a different exam. To maintain the XSOAR Engineer certification, you must pass the current version of the XSOAR Engineer exam before your certification expires.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 721 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept Palo Alto Networks measures — each one written out.
5domains
33objectives
186concepts
158free pages
The domains, and what sits inside them
Every objective below is a page you can open and practise now, without an account.
The official Palo Alto Networks exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
1Planning, Installation, and Maintenance130 questions
1.1 Demonstrate knowledge of planning and configuring system authentication and authorization7 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →1.2 Explain the process of planning and deploying engines3 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →1.3 Explain the process of planning and managing a dev/prod deployment4 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →1.4 Demonstrate knowledge of managing Marketplace pack installations and version updates5 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →1.5 Identify and describe configuration and troubleshooting integration instances4 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →1.6 Explain the process of maintaining and troubleshooting the system5 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →
2Use Case Planning and Development161 questions
2.1 Demonstrate understanding of incident and indicator lifecycles4 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →2.2 Explain field and layout configuration7 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →2.3 Demonstrate understanding of classifier and mapper configuration4 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →2.4 Identify and describe incident creation methods9 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →2.5 Identify and describe incident preprocessing and postprocessing functions5 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →2.6 Demonstrate knowledge of incident type playbooks, layouts, and SLAs7 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →2.7 Explain list configuration and management8 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →
3Playbook Development165 questions
3.1 Explain playbook task input and output configuration and results5 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →3.2 Explain the process of referencing and manipulating context data to manage automation workflow4 concepts · 3 pagesOpen →3.3 Identify and describe the various playbook task types7 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →3.4 Demonstrate understanding of sub-playbook (inputs, outputs, looping) configuration4 concepts · 3 pagesOpen →3.5 Explain the process of applying filters and transformers to manipulate data in playbook tasks5 concepts · 3 pagesOpen →3.6 Explain the process of applying playbook debugger in development and troubleshooting10 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →3.7 Identify and describe built-ins, commands, and scripts3 concepts · 2 pagesOpen →3.8 Explain the process of creating and applying automation scripts4 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →3.9 Explain job creation and management4 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →
4Incident Interactions and Reporting90 questions
5Threat Intelligence Management175 questions
5.1 Identify and describe threat intelligence features7 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →5.2 Explain indicator creation methods7 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →5.3 Explain the process of indicator configuration10 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →5.4 Explain indicator relationships5 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →5.5 Demonstrate knowledge of indicator enrichment and source reliability5 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →5.6 Explain threat intel sharing with external security services7 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →5.7 Demonstrate understanding of indicator exclusions list configuration and management4 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →
Not a table of contents
Every line on this map already opens
In front of every objective the practice pages are already there, free and without an account. This is one objective, opened.
1.1 Demonstrate knowledge of planning and configuring system authentication and authorization6 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
28 questions on this objective, five to a page. Every range above is a real page, open now, with no account.
Reading the map is not the same as knowing the ground
The curriculum tells you what is on the exam. Proving you know it is a different job — and it is the one the closed-book run does.
Free questions
721 questions. No account, no card.
The whole bank is open. 5 questions to a page, every answer explained, and a discussion thread on each one.
721questions
158pages
33objectives
Freealways
Start anywhere1.1 Demonstrate knowledge of planning and configuring system authentication and authorization 28 questions · 6 pages
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Planning, Installation, and Maintenance130 questions
2Use Case Planning and Development161 questions
3Playbook Development165 questions
4Incident Interactions and Reporting90 questions
5Threat Intelligence Management175 questions
5.5 Demonstrate knowledge of indicator enrichment and source reliability21 questions · 5 pagesOpen →
What a practice page gives you
1Five to a page
Short enough to finish, long enough to matter.
2Every answer explained
Not only which one is right — why the others are wrong.
3A discussion on each
Ask, answer, and vote. Every question has its own thread.
A question, and the idea behind it
Every question comes from a concept
These are not trivia. Each one is written against a concept in the book, so when you get one wrong there is somewhere to go and find out why.
The visual book
See it once. Carry it into the exam.
The pages shown here come from our AI-900 book — an example of how each concept is written in plain language and, where the idea needs one, drawn as a full page you can take in at a glance.
186concepts
721free questions
Why a picture, and not another paragraph
Three reasons, and each one is a real finding rather than a slogan.
You can see it againThe whole idea at onceWhere it starts, what happens in the middle, what comes out, and the mistake to avoid.
Multimedia principle · MayerThe look-alikes sit togetherThe pairs the exam tests are drawn side by side, so the difference is seen, not told.
Dual coding · PaivioWhat one page is made of
You are never asked to read a poster here — only to see how one is built. After that, every other page is legible at a glance.
1A numbered strip on top
The idea as a sequence, followed with a finger before a word is read.
2Panels for the parts
What it is, how the machine learns it, when it is the right tool.
3The trap, framed
The distinction the exam tests, given its own box instead of buried in prose.
4One line at the bottom
The sentence to carry into the exam room.
Open book, on purpose
Answer it with the picture beside you
This is the part that teaches. The illustration and the written explanation stay where they are while you work, so a scenario stops being a memory test and becomes something you can simply look at.
It teaches · it does not count
A smartphone uses AI to unlock when the owner looks at the camera. Which AI capability is being used?
AImage classification
BFacial recognition
COptical character recognition
DObject detection
Look at the five steps. Detect finds a face, align straightens it, encode turns it into numbers, search compares it with a stored face, and decide answers one question: is this the same person? Classification would only say “a face”. Detection would only draw a box. Neither decides whose.
Then the page shuts, and it starts counting
The same questions come back with the book closed — that run is the one that counts. After it, your coach picks one thing for tonight, sized to the time you have, and brings pages back before you lose them.
Testing effect · Roediger & Karpicke 2006 · spacing effect · Cepeda et al. 2006
Official resources
Straight from Palo Alto Networks
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
6official links
186concepts mapped
The source
Palo Alto Networks’s own pages
We link to them rather than repeat them, so nothing here goes stale behind them.
Checked against the source
Every objective on the official Palo Alto Networks outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 33 objectives, 186 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When Palo Alto Networks changes the outline, this page changes with it.
33objectives on the outline→186concepts written→721free questions
An official page tells you what will be asked. It cannot tell you what you will get right.
That is the only question worth answering the night before, and no link answers it. You answer it by taking the questions with the book closed, and seeing what comes back.