Smush tags every attachment with a serialized meta blob under the wp_smush-smush-data key in wp_postmeta on the matching wp_posts attachment row. The blob carries the sizes that were processed, the savings ratio per size, the API run that did the work, and the resulting status. Skipped attachments get an wp-smush-ignore-bulk flag instead, and oversized files end up with an wp-smush-skipped reason. The default Smush bulk screen turns those records into a single big progress bar, which is reassuring for a fresh install and unhelpful once the library has thousands of images that fell out of the happy path.

SleekView Kanban reads the same Smush meta rows the bulk screen queries through the plugin's stats API. Pick a derived smush_state field that buckets attachments by presence of the smush-data blob, the ignore flag, and the skipped reason and every image becomes a card grouped under Pending, Smushing, Smushed, or Skipped. Card fronts can show the file name, original file size, savings ratio when smushed, the skip reason when skipped, and the upload date so a site manager can see exactly which attachments need attention.

Dragging a card between columns updates the Smush meta through the plugin's API. A move from Skipped back to Pending clears the ignore-bulk flag so the next bulk run picks the image up. A move from Smushing back to Pending cancels the in-flight job. Any subscriber to wp_smush_image_optimised keeps firing as the rows update, so existing automations such as CDN warm-ups continue to run as before.

Smush makes the first bulk optimization run feel effortless and then quietly accumulates a long tail of skipped, oversized, and unsupported files that nobody ever revisits. The bulk screen is built around the happy path. As soon as the library has tens of thousands of attachments and a few hundred skipped rows, the screen stops being a workflow and turns into a number.

Site managers either accept the number or block out an afternoon to click through the skipped tab one row at a time. Neither feels good and both produce the same outcome the following month. A kanban view that reads and writes the same Smush meta rows as the bulk screen keeps the skipped cohort visible and actionable.

Pending images surface before publication. Smushing images carry a live progress signal. Skipped images cluster by reason in a single column a developer can clear in an afternoon instead of letting the same files sit unreviewed for another year.