Autoptimize aggregates and minifies CSS and JS files into wp-content/cache/autoptimize/, with one combined file per unique configuration of inputs. Configuration lives in the autoptimize_* options (CSS exclusions, JS exclusions, async lists, image optimization toggles, critical CSS rules). The Image Optimization tab integrates with ShortPixel and reports per-account quotas. The default admin shows aggregate stats: cache size, total files, current quota. There is no list of which cached files exist, when they were last touched, or which exclusion patterns are actually matching.

SleekView indexes the cache directory and the autoptimize options so the same data becomes flat rows. One row per cached file can show its name, size, age, MIME type, and which configuration produced it. Exclusion rules become their own table where each pattern carries a match count and a sample of the URLs it affects. Image optimization rows surface ShortPixel quota usage, last image processed, and the failure count for the period.

SleekView is read-only against the cache directory and writes only through Autoptimize's standard options API for inline rule edits. The plugin keeps clearing and regenerating files on its own schedule, and the cache continues to serve from disk through Autoptimize's normal Apache or NGINX rewrites. Saved views like Old cached files over 30 days or Image errors this week scope per role so a developer can audit the cache without access to ShortPixel API keys or critical CSS settings.

Autoptimize works by collapsing dozens of CSS and JS files into a small handful of aggregated bundles, then serving those bundles directly from disk. The optimization is real, but it is also opaque. The default admin tells you how many files exist and how big the cache is, but it does not list them, so cache bloat sneaks up on hosting accounts that bill on disk usage.

Exclusion rules stay in textareas long after the plugins they targeted have been uninstalled, and image optimization sits on its own tab with a status screen instead of a queue. SleekView treats the cache directory and the autoptimize options as the structured data they already are. Every aggregated file becomes a row, every exclusion becomes a pattern with a measurable match count, and every image optimization request becomes a queue entry with a status flag.

The plugin keeps doing the work it does well; SleekView just lets the people responsible for performance read the audit without SSH access or a half-finished spreadsheet.