What is Cloud Run primarily used for?

Cloud Run is primarily used to deploy containerized applications in a serverless environment. It allows developers to run and manage containerized workloads without needing to manage the underlying infrastructure. By leveraging the containerization format, Cloud Run supports any programming language and framework that can be packaged into a container. This flexibility is particularly beneficial for developing scalable applications that can handle varying workloads efficiently.

Cloud Run automatically scales the application based on the incoming traffic, deploying instances of the container as needed and shutting them down when not in use, making it cost-efficient. This serverless model means that developers can focus more on writing code rather than worrying about server management, provisioning, or configuration, which aligns perfectly with the needs of modern cloud-native applications.

The other options, while related to cloud services, do not accurately reflect the primary purpose of Cloud Run. For instance, traditional virtual machines involve more management than what Cloud Run offers, and hosting static websites is typically accomplished using other Google Cloud services. Managing API keys is also not within the core functionality of Cloud Run, as that responsibility usually falls under API management services or specific cloud identity tools.