A system and method for conforming a metadata file associated with qtree of a storage system to a version used by a file system kernel of the storage system, where the version indicates a format of the metadata file. The metadata file stores state information with respect to each qtree, and may be located outside of the qtree structure. Major and minor versions are compared with latest known major and minor versions associated with the file system kernel. In response to such comparisons, the metadata file may be updated to a newer version, rolled back to an older version, and/or the system may enter a corrective state where further operations are performed.