Depending on the implementation, a file change log will record changes such as creates, links, unlinks (deletions), renamed files, data changes, and metadata changes (for example, ACLs and permissions).
First, some applications must scan an entire file system to discover changes since their last scan.
By reading a file change log, they can avoid this scan.
Scanning applications include backup utilities, web crawler, search engines, and replication programs.
Second, the log can serve as an audit record for activity in a file system.