Docker is the ultimate application format for Linux. It IS Linux. If you read a Dockerfile, you can replicate it on a fresh install command by command, it serves as doc too. For example if it says "FROM debian:bookworm RUN apt install nginx blah blah" you can just repeat those steps on Bookworm. It's just the developer already that work for you so all you need to do is run "docker run -dt sometool:sometag" and presto it's all running on your PC.
Dockerized apps run with almost no overhead, it's not like using a VM.
Take 2 hours to learn it, trust me it's worth it. This isn't some "Cloud Scale!" hype. It's useful even for someone with just a Pi at home. Just stick to the basic Docker commands (exec, run, compose if you want to be fancy). Don't bother with that Google-scale stuff like Kubernetes unless this becomes your career.