Docker and podman aren’t too bad nowadays I don’t think assuming you’re not running something huge

(Podman is another tool that does the same thing as docker)

Docker and podman containers are basically like throwaway mini-vms that contain one application to ensure it will always run no matter where so long as the machine you’re running them on can run docker

They can run CLI stuff just fine, I’m not sure about desktop apps someone smarter than me will probably tell you about that

FOSS lightweight ”virtual machine” (it’s not quite a VM but it’s similar conceptually. It’s much lighter on your system than a VM).

Easy to install, setting it up for your use case may take some coding if it isn’t common (bash scripting experience will help).