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Shade-tolerant ajuga is probably your best bet if you want something that spreads on its own and basically ignores you. It's got decent looking purple flowers in spring, the foliage stays green year-round, and once it gets going it chokes out weeds pretty hard. You just plant it and let it do its thing. Creeping phlox works similarly if you want something slightly fancier looking, though it needs a bit more drainage.
If ajuga feels too aggressive for your space, creeping jenny or sweet woodruff are solid middle grounds. They spread steadily without taking over everything, and both handle shade really well. Hostas are another classic option if you don't mind something more upright - they're virtually indestructible in shade and come in tons of foliage colors. None of these need much watering once established or any real fertilizing.
The main thing is just picking one that matches your soil conditions. If it's consistently damp, go for something like creeping jenny. If it's drier under the shade (like under tree cover), ajuga handles that better. Most ground covers need maybe a year to fill in properly, so be patient at the start but don't overthink it after that.
Don't waste money on fancy shade plants if your soil drains like a swamp - most ground covers will rot before they spread, so fix that first if you can. Creeping thyme works great in shade that's not *total* darkness, needs basically nothing, and here's the thing nobody mentions: plant it in fall instead of spring and you'll get way better establishment because it's not fighting summer heat while establishing roots.
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