An embodiment of the invention provides an apparatus and method for presenting differences in a file system of a clustered storage system. In an embodiment, the clustered storage system receives a request from a host, where the request is for a listing of changes in the file system within a time interval. A comparison unit in each storage node of the clustered storage system determines each metadata container associated with the file system which has changed within the time interval. The application programming interface buffers at least one identifier that corresponds to a metadata container associated with the file system which has changed within the time interval. The application programming interface packages and transmits the at least one identifier to the host. The at least one identifier is readable on the host.