Portainer

Portainer is a lightweight management UI for Docker, Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, and Azure ACI that simplifies container operations. It provides an intuitive web interface for deploying applications, managing containers, viewing logs, and configuring networks - all without complex CLI commands. Portainer supports templates for one-click application deployment, role-based access control for teams, and edge computing for managing remote Docker hosts. It's the go-to tool for teams transitioning to containerized infrastructure.

Portainer itself is extremely lightweight - it's essentially a web interface that communicates with Docker or Kubernetes APIs. The application runs in a container and maintains minimal state. Resource requirements depend primarily on the number of endpoints managed and users accessing the interface. Memory usage increases slightly when viewing many containers or querying large logs. The bulk of resources go to your actual containers, not Portainer itself.