A method and system for obtaining identified content items that have been backed up is disclosed. The method includes receiving a request to obtain an identified content item. A backup location among a plurality of backup locations where the identified content item is stored is determined. It is determined whether the backup location corresponds to a serialized representation of a backup snapshot including the identified content item. In response to a determination that the backup location corresponds to the serialized representation, the identified content item is extracted from the serialized representation including building a stubbed snapshot tree using the serialized representation. As a response to the request, the identified content item is provided and extracted using the stubbed snapshot tree.