cAdvisor (Container Advisor) is an open-source container monitoring tool developed by Google that provides real-time insights into the resource usage and performance characteristics of running containers. It collects, aggregates, processes, and exports information about CPU, memory, network, and filesystem usage for each container, enabling detailed analysis and troubleshooting of containerized applications. Designed to be lightweight and easy to deploy, cAdvisor integrates seamlessly with container runtimes like Docker and Kubernetes, offering a web UI and REST API to visualize container metrics and performance data.
By continuously monitoring containers, cAdvisor helps users optimize resource allocation, detect anomalies, and improve application reliability in production environments. Its data can also be exported to external monitoring systems such as Prometheus or InfluxDB, facilitating integration with comprehensive observability and alerting tools. As a widely adopted monitoring solution, cAdvisor serves as a foundational component in many container orchestration and management workflows.