Introduction

In the rapidly evolving world of cloud technologies and microservices, where giants like Docker and Kubernetes dominate, the need for more lightweight and economical solutions is often overlooked. By 2026, this need has only intensified. VPS providers offer increasingly powerful, yet still resource-constrained machines, and paying for excessive orchestration overhead becomes an unaffordable luxury for many projects.

This article is dedicated to the combination of Podman and Systemd — a powerful yet underestimated duo that allows for efficient container management on one or more VPS without the need to deploy heavyweight Kubernetes clusters or depend on the Docker daemon. We will explore why this approach is becoming increasingly relevant for startups, small SaaS projects, backend developers, and DevOps engineers striving for maximum efficiency and cost savings.

What problems does this article solve?

• Excessive Overhead: The Docker Daemon consumes resources even when idle, and Kubernetes requires significant computing power and complex configuration. Podman operates without a daemon, and Systemd is natively integrated into most Linux distributions, minimizing consumption.
• Management Complexity: Setting up and maintaining a Kubernetes cluster is a specialized skill. Managing containers via Systemd units is much simpler and more understandable for system administrators accustomed to standard Linux services.
• Security: Podman's security model, focused on rootless containers and the absence of a central daemon, significantly reduces risks compared to Docker.
• Cost Savings: Lower resource consumption means the ability to use cheaper VPS, which is critically important for startups and projects with limited budgets.
• Vendor/Platform Lock-in: The Podman+Systemd approach is based on open standards (OCI) and native Linux components, reducing dependence on specific proprietary solutions or ecosystems.

Who is this guide for?

This guide is intended for DevOps engineers, backend developers (especially in Python, Node.js, Go, PHP), SaaS project founders, system administrators, and technical directors of startups who are looking for a reliable, secure, and economical solution for deploying containerized applications on a VPS. If you value simplicity, efficiency, and control over your infrastructure, but are not willing to sacrifice the benefits of containerization, then this article is for you.

By 2026, Podman has firmly established itself as a full-fledged and often preferred alternative to Docker, especially in server environments. Its integration with Systemd opens new horizons for efficient and secure container operation, which we will discuss in detail further on.

Key Criteria/Selection Factors

When choosing a container orchestration strategy on a VPS, it is necessary to consider many factors that directly affect performance, security, cost, and ease of operation. In 2026, as technologies have reached a certain maturity, these criteria have become even clearer and more critical.

1. System Resource Consumption (Resource Footprint)

This is arguably the most important criterion for a VPS. Every megabyte of RAM and every percentage of CPU consumed by the orchestration system itself means fewer resources for your application. High overhead leads to the need to purchase a more expensive VPS or to application performance degradation. Podman, operating without a daemon, and Systemd, being part of the OS kernel, minimize this consumption. We evaluate it by CPU and RAM consumption at idle, as well as by its impact on container startup latencies.

Why it's important: Directly affects infrastructure costs and application performance, especially with limited resources. For SaaS projects, this means the difference between profitability and loss.

How to evaluate: Measure RAM and CPU consumption on a clean installation after system startup and after deploying a test container. Tools: htop, free -h, top, systemd-analyze blame.

2. Security (Security Posture)

In 2026, cybersecurity threats continue to grow, and the solution's architecture must be as secure as possible. The absence of a constantly running daemon (as in Docker) eliminates an entire category of vulnerabilities. Support for rootless containers, where a container runs as an unprivileged user, significantly reduces potential damage in the event of a compromise. Container isolation, network policy management, and update mechanisms are also important.

Why it's important: Protects user data, prevents unauthorized access, complies with regulatory requirements (GDPR, CCPA, etc.). A single security breach can cost reputation and business.

How to evaluate: Analyze the security model (daemon vs. daemonless), the presence and maturity of rootless mode, isolation mechanisms (namespaces, cgroups), integration with the firewall (firewalld, nftables).

3. Ease of Deployment & Management

Time is money. The faster an application can be deployed and the easier it is to maintain, the more efficient the team. This includes intuitive configuration, adequate documentation, ease of updates, and debugging. For system administrators accustomed to Systemd, managing containers through familiar units significantly simplifies their work.

Why it's important: Reduces Time-to-Market, lowers operational expenses (OpEx), decreases the likelihood of errors during deployment and maintenance.

How to evaluate: Number of steps to deploy a typical application, complexity of configuration files, availability of monitoring and logging tools, learning curve for a new team.

4. Reliability & Stability

Production systems must be stable and fault-tolerant. This means that the orchestration system must correctly handle restarts, container failures, and server reboots. Systemd, as the cornerstone of most Linux systems, is known for its reliability and rich capabilities for managing the lifecycle of services, including automatic restarts, dependencies, and timers.

Why it's important: Ensures continuous operation of services, minimizes downtime, which is critically important for SaaS projects and online services.

How to evaluate: Testing under various failure scenarios (container stop, VPS reboot), checking logging and recovery mechanisms, maturity and activity of the community.

5. Ecosystem & Tooling

A developed ecosystem of tools for image building (Buildah), registry management (Skopeo), monitoring, CI/CD integration, and debugging significantly simplifies work. Although Podman does not have as extensive an ecosystem as Docker, it is compatible with most Docker tools due to OCI compatibility and is actively developing. Integration with Systemd adds the power of native Linux tools.

Why it's important: Increases the productivity of developers and DevOps engineers, allows for automation of routine tasks, simplifies integration into existing CI/CD pipelines.

How to evaluate: Availability of tools for various stages (build, deploy, monitor), compatibility with existing standards (OCI), development and support activity.

6. Compatibility & Migration

The ability to use existing Dockerfiles and images without changes is a huge advantage. The ease of migration from other platforms (e.g., Docker Compose) is also important. Podman is fully compatible with Docker images and Dockerfiles, making the transition as painless as possible.

Why it's important: Reduces costs for retraining and rewriting existing projects, allows the use of established practices and images.

How to evaluate: Ability to run existing Docker images, compatibility with Dockerfiles, availability of tools for converting or generating configurations.

7. Flexibility & Customization

The ability to fine-tune container behavior, network configurations, volume mounting, and resource management. Systemd units provide an extremely flexible and powerful mechanism for defining all aspects of service operation, including dependencies, cgroups, environment variables, and much more.

Why it's important: Allows adapting the solution to specific project requirements, optimizing performance and security, and implementing complex deployment scenarios.

How to evaluate: Depth of settings available through configuration files (Systemd unit files), support for various network modes, ability to fine-tune resources.

These criteria form the basis for making an informed decision about choosing Podman and Systemd as a container orchestration strategy, especially when it comes to deployment on limited VPS resources.

Comparative Table: Podman + Systemd vs. Alternatives (relevant for 2026)

In this table, we compare the Podman + Systemd combination with the most common alternatives for deploying applications on a VPS, considering criteria relevant for 2026. VPS prices are approximate and may vary depending on the provider and region.

Table Conclusion: Podman + Systemd occupies a unique niche between the simplicity of Docker Compose and the power of Kubernetes. It offers significantly better resource efficiency and security than Docker Compose, while remaining much less complex and resource-intensive than even a lightweight K3s. For projects requiring reliable containerization on one or more VPS without excessive overhead, this is the ideal choice in 2026.

Detailed Overview of Podman and Systemd

For a complete understanding of the benefits of the Podman and Systemd combination, it is necessary to delve deeply into the functionality of each component and examine how they complement each other.

Podman: Daemonless Containers

Podman (POD MANager) is a tool for managing containers and images, compatible with the OCI (Open Container Initiative) standard. It was developed by Red Hat as a direct replacement for Docker, addressing many of its shortcomings, primarily the dependency on a constantly running daemon.

Podman Advantages:

• Daemonless Architecture: The main difference and advantage of Podman. The absence of a central daemon means that Podman does not consume resources in the background when there are no active containers. Each container runs as a child process of Podman, which can then be handed over to Systemd for management. This significantly enhances security, as there is no single point of failure or vulnerability that could be exploited to control the entire system.
• Rootless Containers: Podman is inherently designed to run containers as an unprivileged user. This means that even if an attacker compromises a container, they will not gain root access to the host system. This fundamentally changes the security model compared to Docker, where rootless mode appeared much later and is still not the default or entirely problem-free.
• OCI Compatibility: Podman is fully compatible with OCI standards for images and runtimes. This means you can use the same Dockerfiles, the same images from Docker Hub (or any other registry), and the same commands (most Podman commands are Docker aliases). Migrating from Docker to Podman often boils down to replacing docker with podman in scripts.
• Pods Concept: Podman supports the concept of "pods" — groups of containers that share a network stack and other resources, similar to pods in Kubernetes. This allows for easy orchestration of related services (e.g., web server and proxy) on a single host, using Systemd to manage the entire pod.
• Tools: In addition to podman itself, the ecosystem includes Buildah for building images (often more flexible than docker build) and Skopeo for working with images in registries (copying, inspecting without downloading).
• Cgroups v2: Podman actively uses and supports Cgroups v2, which provides more efficient and precise resource management for containers compared to Cgroups v1, which dominated in Docker.

Podman Disadvantages:

• Less Mature Tool Ecosystem: While Podman is actively developing, some specific tools created exclusively for Docker may not work directly or may require adaptation. For example, podman-compose exists, but is not always 100% functionally identical to docker-compose.
• Less Widespread Popularity: Despite its technical advantages, Docker remains the de facto standard, and finding ready-made solutions or expertise for Podman can be more challenging, although the situation is rapidly changing.
• Networking Model: For rootless containers, the networking model can be slightly more complex to configure (e.g., for publishing ports below 1024), requiring the use of utilities like slirp4netns or netavark/aardvark-dns.

Who Podman is for: For those who value security, resource efficiency, and native integration with Linux, especially on VPS or in environments where a Docker daemon is undesirable. Ideal for developers, system administrators, and startup founders who need a powerful yet lightweight container environment.

Systemd: Linux Service Manager

Systemd is an init system and service manager for Linux operating systems. It has become the de facto standard for most modern distributions, replacing older SysVinit and Upstart. Systemd provides a powerful and flexible framework for managing the lifecycle of almost any process or service in the system.

Systemd Advantages:

• Native OS Integration: Systemd is part of the core of most Linux distributions, ensuring deep and seamless integration. It launches processes, manages their dependencies, monitors their status, and automatically restarts them in case of failures.
• Powerful Service Management: Systemd unit files allow for very precise configuration of service behavior: from start and stop commands to dependencies, resource limits (cgroups), environment variables, logging, and restart policies. This makes it ideal for managing containers as regular system services.
• Logging and Monitoring: journalctl, part of Systemd, provides a centralized logging system for all services. This significantly simplifies the collection and analysis of container logs, making debugging more efficient.
• Timers and Events: Systemd Timer units can replace cron for scheduling container launches, and Path units can launch containers when files change. This opens up broad possibilities for automation.
• Isolation and Security: Systemd provides various isolation mechanisms for services, such as PrivateTmp, ProtectSystem, CapabilityBoundingSet, RestrictAddressFamilies, and others, which can be applied to containers launched via Systemd, further enhancing their security.
• Maturity and Reliability: Systemd is a very mature and well-tested Linux component, used in millions of production systems worldwide. Its reliability is beyond doubt.

Systemd Disadvantages:

• Steep Learning Curve: For newcomers, Systemd can seem complex due to the abundance of options and intricacies in unit files. However, for system administrators, it is a familiar tool.
• "All-in-one" Philosophy: Some criticize Systemd for attempting to take on too many functions beyond a simple init system.
• Not Designed for Cluster Orchestration: Systemd is effective on a single host but does not provide native mechanisms for managing containers across multiple machines. This would require an external tool (e.g., Ansible, Terraform).

Who Systemd is for: For everyone working with Linux servers. Its use for managing containers is a natural extension of its primary function, especially for system administrators who value control and predictability.

Podman and Systemd Integration: Synergy

The strength of the Podman and Systemd combination lies in their synergy. Podman provides a lightweight and secure environment for running containers, while Systemd takes over their lifecycle management, transforming containers into full-fledged system services. The key tool here is the podman generate systemd command, which automatically creates a Systemd unit file for a running container or pod.

This unit file can then be used to start, stop, restart the container, ensure its autostart upon system boot, configure dependencies with other services (e.g., a database), manage resources, and collect logs. This allows containers to be managed exactly like any other system service, which significantly simplifies administration and increases reliability. For example, you can configure a web server in a container to start only after a database in another container (or even on the host) is ready.

Thus, Podman and Systemd together offer a powerful, secure, and efficient solution for containerization on a VPS, allowing you to gain many of the benefits of Kubernetes (lifecycle management, isolation) without its complexity and resource intensity.

Practical Tips and Recommendations: Deployment with Podman and Systemd

It's time to move from theory to practice. Here we will look at step-by-step instructions and real-world configuration examples for effectively using Podman and Systemd on your VPS.

1. Installing Podman

In 2026, Podman is available in the standard repositories of most popular Linux distributions. Make sure you are using an up-to-date version.

# For Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y podman

# For CentOS/RHEL/Fedora
sudo dnf install -y podman

# Check installation
podman --version

If you plan to use rootless containers (which is highly recommended), ensure your user has a sufficient UID/GID range to create user namespaces. This is usually configured automatically during Podman installation, but sometimes manual configuration of /etc/subuid and /etc/subgid may be required.

# Example /etc/subuid for user user1
user1:100000:65536

# Example /etc/subgid for user user1
user1:100000:65536

This means that user user1 can use UID/GID from 100000 to 165535 inside their rootless containers.

2. Running a simple container (rootless)

Let's start with a simple Nginx server, running as an unprivileged user.

# Log in as your regular user (not root)
podman run --name my-nginx -p 8080:80 -d nginx:latest

# Check container status
podman ps

# Check logs
podman logs my-nginx

Now your Nginx is available at http://localhost:8080 on the VPS. If you want to make it accessible from outside, ensure your firewall allows traffic on port 8080.

3. Generating a Systemd Unit File for a Container

Podman's most powerful feature for Systemd integration is automatic unit file generation. For rootless containers, unit files should be located in the ~/.config/systemd/user/ directory.

# Stop the running container so Systemd can manage it
podman stop my-nginx
podman rm my-nginx

# Generate a Systemd unit file for a rootless container.
# --name: service name
# --files: create a .service file
# --new: create a new container if it doesn't exist (on restart)
# --restart-policy: restart policy
# --container-prefix: prefix for the container name
podman generate systemd --name my-nginx --files --new --restart-policy=always \
  --container-prefix container-my-nginx-service -f ~/.config/systemd/user/my-nginx.service

Open the generated file ~/.config/systemd/user/my-nginx.service. It will look something like this:

# ~/.config/systemd/user/my-nginx.service
# Automatically generated by Podman.
# Do not edit this file manually, as it will be overwritten.
# Use 'podman generate systemd --help' for more information.
[Unit]
Description=Podman container-my-nginx-service.service
Documentation=man:podman-generate-systemd(1)
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target
RequiresMountsFor=%t/containers

[Service]
Environment=PODMAN_SYSTEMD_UNIT=%n
Restart=on-failure
TimeoutStopSec=70
ExecStartPre=/bin/rm -f %t/%n.cid
ExecStart=/usr/bin/podman run --conmon-pidfile %t/%n.cid --cidfile %t/%n.cid --cgroups=no-conmon --sdnotify=conmon -d --replace \
  --name container-my-nginx-service -p 8080:80 nginx:latest
ExecStop=/usr/bin/podman stop --ignore --cidfile %t/%n.cid
ExecStopPost=/usr/bin/podman rm --ignore --cidfile %t/%n.cid
Type=notify
NotifyAccess=all

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

Note ExecStart, where Podman starts the container. Restart=on-failure ensures automatic restarts. WantedBy=default.target means the service will start when the user's Systemd session starts.

4. Managing the Container via Systemd (rootless)

Now we can manage the container as a regular user Systemd service.

# Reload Systemd configuration for user units
systemctl --user daemon-reload

# Enable service autostart on user login
systemctl --user enable my-nginx.service

# Start the service
systemctl --user start my-nginx.service

# Check status
systemctl --user status my-nginx.service

# View logs
journalctl --user -u my-nginx.service

# Stop the service
systemctl --user stop my-nginx.service

# Disable autostart
systemctl --user disable my-nginx.service

Important: For rootless containers managed by Systemd, by default the service only starts after the user logs in. To make it run after a VPS reboot without manual login, use loginctl enable-linger . This allows user Systemd services to run in the background, even if the user is not logged in.

# Enable linger for your user
sudo loginctl enable-linger $(whoami)

# Check that linger is enabled
loginctl show-user $(whoami) | grep Linger

5. Deploying a Pod with Multiple Containers and Systemd

Suppose you have a web application (Python/Node.js) and a database (PostgreSQL) that need to work together. Podman can combine them into a "pod".

# Create a pod
podman pod create --name my-app-pod -p 80:80

# Run PostgreSQL in the pod
podman run --pod my-app-pod --name my-db -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mysecretpassword -d postgres:16

# Run your web application (assuming it has an image app:latest)
# The application will be available on host port 80
podman run --pod my-app-pod --name my-web -d my-app:latest

# Check pod and containers
podman pod ps
podman ps

Now let's generate a Systemd unit file for the entire pod:

# Stop the pod so Systemd takes control
podman pod stop my-app-pod
podman pod rm my-app-pod

# Generate a unit file for the pod
podman generate systemd --name my-app-pod --files --new --restart-policy=always \
  --container-prefix pod-my-app-service -f ~/.config/systemd/user/my-app-pod.service

The my-app-pod.service file will contain instructions for starting all containers in the pod. Then use systemctl --user daemon-reload, enable, start, status, journalctl, as shown above.

6. Fine-tuning Systemd Unit Files

While podman generate systemd creates a good basic file, it often needs refinement. You can manually edit the .service file (but remember that podman generate will overwrite it, so it's better to do this in a copy or modify the generated file). For example, you can add:

• Wants=db.service: If your application needs a local database managed by another Systemd unit file.
• Requires=network-online.target: Ensure the network is available before startup.
• LimitCPU=, MemoryLimit=: Resource limits at the Systemd level (in addition to cgroups in Podman).
• User=: If running as root, you can specify a particular user.
• WorkingDirectory=: Specify the working directory.
• Environment="VAR=VALUE": Add environment variables.

Example modification of my-app-pod.service for greater reliability and security:

# ~/.config/systemd/user/my-app-pod.service
# ... (remaining part of the file, generated by Podman) ...

[Service]
# ... (existing parameters) ...

# Additional settings for security and stability
# Restrict file system access (read-only, except for allowed paths)
ProtectSystem=full
ProtectHome=read-only

# Restrict network access (allow only IPv4/IPv6, no RAW sockets)
RestrictAddressFamilies=AF_INET AF_INET6

# Set resource limits
MemoryMax=1G
CPUQuota=50% # Limit CPU to 50% of one core

# Environment variables for the application, if needed in Systemd
Environment="APP_ENV=production"
Environment="DATABASE_HOST=localhost" # If DB is in the same pod

# Ensure containers start after all file systems are mounted
Requires=local-fs.target
After=local-fs.target

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

After any manual changes, don't forget systemctl --user daemon-reload and systemctl --user restart my-app-pod.service.

7. Using Volume Mounts and Persistency

To preserve container data (databases, uploaded files), use Podman named volumes or host directory mounts. Podman automatically accounts for these volumes when generating Systemd unit files.

# Create a named volume
podman volume create my-db-data

# Run PostgreSQL using the volume
podman run --name my-db-persistent \
  -v my-db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mysecretpassword -d postgres:16

# Generate Systemd unit
podman generate systemd --name my-db-persistent --files --new --restart-policy=always \
  -f ~/.config/systemd/user/my-db-persistent.service

The generated file will specify the -v my-db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data parameter, ensuring data persistence.

These practical tips will help you quickly and efficiently deploy and manage containers on your VPS, leveraging the power of Podman and Systemd.

Common Mistakes When Working with Podman and Systemd

Even the most experienced engineers can encounter problems when learning new tools. Here is a list of common mistakes when working with Podman and Systemd, and how to avoid them.

1. Forgetting loginctl enable-linger for rootless services

Mistake: You've configured a rootless container, generated a Systemd unit file, enabled it with systemctl --user enable, but after a VPS reboot, the container doesn't start until you log in as your user.

Why it happens: User Systemd services by default only start when there is an active user session. When you log out or restart the server, the session ends, and the services stop.

How to avoid: Use the command sudo loginctl enable-linger . This allows user Systemd services to run in the background, even if the user is not logged in. After this, don't forget systemctl --user daemon-reload and systemctl --user restart .

# Example consequence: after VPS reboot, container is not running
systemctl --user status my-nginx.service
# Output: inactive (dead)

# Solution
sudo loginctl enable-linger $(whoami)
systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable my-nginx.service
systemctl --user start my-nginx.service

2. Network access issues for rootless containers

Mistake: The container is running rootless but cannot access external resources or cannot be accessed from outside, even if the port is forwarded.

Why it happens: Rootless containers use User-mode networking (e.g., slirp4netns), which may have limitations or require additional firewall configuration. Ports below 1024 usually require privileges.

How to avoid:

• Use ports above 1024 for publishing, if possible (e.g., 8080 instead of 80).
• Ensure that firewalld or ufw on the host allow traffic to the forwarded ports. For slirp4netns, traffic might go through the slirp4netns or lo interface.
• Check that ip_unprivileged_port_start in sysctl is not interfering (though for rootless this is less relevant, it's good to know).
• For more complex network configurations, consider using CNI plugins configured for rootless mode (e.g., netavark/aardvark-dns), although this complicates setup. For most VPS, slirp4netns is sufficient.

# Example firewall check (for firewalld)
sudo firewall-cmd --list-all
sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=8080/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

3. Incorrect use of --new and --replace when generating Systemd unit files

Mistake: After changing the podman run command or image, the Systemd service doesn't update, or Podman complains that the container already exists.

Why it happens: podman generate systemd by default creates a unit file for an existing container. If you want Systemd to always launch a new container or update it, you need to use options.

How to avoid:

• Use --new: This option tells Systemd to launch the container using the podman run command, not podman start. This ensures that the container will be created (or updated) with the latest parameters.
• Use --replace: Inside ExecStart (if you are using --new), add --replace to the podman run command. This will allow Podman to remove the old container with the same name and create a new one if it already exists.

# Correct generation for automatic update/recreation
podman generate systemd --name my-app --files --new --restart-policy=always \
  --container-prefix container-my-app-service -f ~/.config/systemd/user/my-app.service

# Make sure --replace is in ExecStart:
# ExecStart=/usr/bin/podman run --replace ...

4. Incorrect volume management and data persistence

Mistake: Database data or user files are lost when the container is deleted/updated.

Why it happens: Containers are inherently ephemeral. If data is stored inside the container's file system, it will be lost when the container is deleted.

How to avoid:

• Use named Podman volumes (podman volume create). They are managed by Podman and exist independently of containers.
• Mount host directories (bind mounts) using -v /path/on/host:/path/in/container. Ensure that the rootless container user has the necessary permissions for this directory on the host.
• Always explicitly specify volumes when launching a container with persistent data.

# Creating a volume
podman volume create my-db-data

# Running a container with a volume
podman run --name my-db -v my-db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data ...

5. Ignoring Systemd logs and status

Mistake: The container doesn't start, but you don't know why, and you start "poking" commands randomly.

Why it happens: Insufficient use of the powerful diagnostic tools provided by Systemd.

How to avoid: Always start debugging by checking the Systemd service status and its logs.

# Check overall service status
systemctl --user status my-app-pod.service

# View detailed service logs
journalctl --user -u my-app-pod.service

# View the last N lines of container logs directly
podman logs my-app-container-name

Often the problem lies in configuration errors inside the container or incorrectly passed environment variables, which is easy to see in the logs.

6. Running Systemd services as root when rootless is possible

Mistake: All containers are run as root, which increases the attack surface.

Why it happens: Habit of working with Docker, which by default runs containers as root, or unawareness of Podman's rootless mode capabilities.

How to avoid: Always try to run containers in rootless mode. To do this:

• Create Systemd unit files in ~/.config/systemd/user/.
• Manage them using systemctl --user.
• Enable linger for your user (see mistake 1).

7. Forgetting about podman system prune

Mistake: VPS disk space gradually runs out due to a large number of unused images, containers, and volumes.

Why it happens: During development and deployment, temporary images, stopped containers, and unused volumes are created, which take up space.

How to avoid: Regularly run podman system prune (or its more specific versions podman image prune, podman container prune, podman volume prune) to clean up unused resources.

# View disk usage
podman system df

# Clean up all unused containers, images, volumes, and cache
podman system prune -a

You can add this command to a cron job or Systemd timer so that it runs automatically, for example, once a week.

By avoiding these common mistakes, you can significantly improve the stability, security, and efficiency of your container infrastructure on a VPS using Podman and Systemd.