Have a question? This is where you can check for answers to some common questions we've received about the Learn Chef platform. If your question can't be found here, consider reaching out to us via the Contact Us page.  

Q. What is Learn Chef?

Learn Chef is a free, self-paced training tool designed to assist in getting started with Chef Software products and solutions. The system organizes learning paths into Courses, which you can enroll in after registering a new account. If you had an account on our previous learning platform (Learn Chef Rally) you still need to register a new account to get started.

Q. How much does it cost?

The content on Learn Chef is free!

Q. Are the Chef products taught here free to download and use?

Assuming you accept the Chef End-User License Agreement (EULA), then yes! You can view the full EULA here:

https://www.chef.io/end-user-license-agreement/

TL;DR:

Our software is free to use for personal, non-commercial, or experimental purposes. If you’re learning how to use our products by following these tutorials, then yes, any non-premium Chef products are free to use! If you have a license you’ll still need to ensure you’re within the scope of the Master License and Services Agreement (MLSA) at all times. If you have any questions about the EULA or MLSA, don’t hesitate to reach out by visiting https://www.chef.io/eula-inquiry/ . You can learn more about Chef Software licenses by visiting the Chef Documentation.  

Q. I’m having trouble getting signed up or logged in, what should I do?

To access our free learning content you’ll need to create a new account on Learn Chef. You can do this with either a username/password combination, or you can use a Google or GitHub login.

You will need to “register” for an account before you sign in, even if you had an account on the old learning platform (Learn Chef Rally). Click “Register” on the main Learn Chef navigation bar at the top: 

Then, select “Sign Up” in the authorization window that appears.

You will need to “Sign Up”, and then verify your email address before your account is active.  Afterwards, you should be able to “Log In”:

If you had an account on Learn Chef Rally that was active in the last two years, we migrated your award badges into our new award system, Badgr, which you can use to track your badges and share them on social. Check out the answer to the FAQ “I want my badges I earned on Learn Chef Rally! Are they gone?” to learn about linking your email addresses.  

Q. How do I earn a badge?

Badges are an award system used on Learn Chef to show that you’ve completed a Course and signify competence in that subject matter. You can only earn badges for courses you have enrolled in.

If you've finished a course but haven't received a badge, ensure that all sections of the course are marked by a green checkmark on the course outline page. If any are missing a checkmark, revisit that section and make sure you've completed all the associated units. Contact Us with any concerns, or if you still haven't received a badge 48 hours after completing a course.

Q. I earned a badge! How can I share it?

Learn Chef uses Badgr (built on the Open Badges specification) to track your earned badges. To manage your badges, share them on social media, or import badges from an old Learn Chef Rally account, you’ll need to set up an account at badges.chef.io . After creating your account you should see all your earned badges under badges.chef.io/my-badges, where you can also share any of your awards to social media accounts.  If you already use Badgr, you can link Learn Chef to your account by visiting the site above. If you’re a new user, set up your account using the same email or login method you used to register for Learn Chef.

Q. I want my badges I earned on Learn Chef Rally! Are they gone?

If you previously had an account on Learn Chef Rally that was active in the last two years, we migrated your award badges into Badgr (unless you opted out).  If you don't automatically see the badges from the old Learn Chef Rally system, link and verify any email addresses you may have used for Learn Chef Rally on your Badgr Profile page. You can check this help article if you’re having any trouble. When the correct email has been linked you should see all badges from Learn Chef Rally and the new Learn Chef system under badges.chef.io/my-badges. If you’re still having trouble you can reach out directly through the Contact Us page.  

Q. What are the system requirements to take a virtual lab?

Learn Chef utilizes Appsembler’s Virtual Labs platform for the embedded lab environments found in some Learn Chef courses. For these labs you have the option of accessing a lab environment in an embedded browser window, and in many courses the same environment is available via SSH. All that’s required here is a supported browser, or an SSH client when available.  Most current browsers will work.

For best performance, we recommend the latest versions of:     

• Google Chrome
• Firefox  

We also support the latest versions of:    

• Microsoft Edge
• Microsoft Internet Explorer  
• Safari  

If you are having trouble accessing the lab environments, please ensure that an ad-blocker is not blocking the connection. You might also try accessing through a private or incognito browser tab. The Virtual Labs environments are typically accessible for 15 days after creation, after which point your work within the environment will be lost and the environment will need to be relaunched. Some Courses utilize a lab setup on your local machine instead, using tools like Vagrant, VirtualBox and Docker. For these lab setups the system requirements are listed during the setup process on a course-by-course basis.  

Q. I want to update my account information. How can I change my info?

You can access and manage your account on the Account Settings page. Please be aware that if you delete your account on this page, you will be unable to register again for Learn Chef using the same email address or login method. If you accidentally delete your account you will need to re-register with a different email address. Contact us if you have any trouble. To view your Learn Chef profile, sign-in and click on the hamburger menu (a square with three lines in it) in the upper-right corner of the page, then click on your username or Profile name. The profile settings are adjustable by updating the Account Settings page above.  

Q. Where can I ask a question about a course?

Each course has a discussion forum, accessible after enrolling in any course. You can post questions or follow up on threads posted by other users. Here’s an example of the Discussion tab from one of our courses:  

If you can’t find an answer to a question or a related topic to post under, click “Add a Post”. Here you can create a new Question or Discussion item, and add it to a “topic”. You can create a new topic for the post if needed, or add your post to the “General” topic if you’re not sure where else it would go.  

Q. I found a bug in a course. Where can I report it?   

For now the best way to submit feedback is using the Contact Us form, or emailing training@chef.io directly. 

Q. Where can I go for help with any of the courses?

Check out the Discussion for your course to connect with other users or see answers to common questions. You can reach out to us directly via with the contact page, or contact us directly at training@chef.io. We also encourage you to engage with us and our community on the Community Slack in the #learnchef channel, where you can also ask questions about Learn Chef.