Various methods and systems for implementing a file change log in a distributed file system are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method involves operating a distributed file system that presents a namespace and maintaining a file change log for the namespace. Operating the distributed file system involves executing an instance of a file system on each of several nodes. Maintaining the file change log can involve maintaining a single file change log for the namespace. Updates to the single file change log can be handled by a primary node or controlled using a locking mechanism. Alternatively, several private file change logs (e.g., one per node) can be maintained, and these private file change logs can be merged into a single file change log (e.g., by a primary node).