Disclosed are novel methods and apparatus for delta transfers in distributed file systems. In an embodiment, a communication system for transferring a delta of a file is disclosed. The communication system includes a sender site, a file transfer system, and a receiver site. The sender site includes a database with a trove section and a transfer section. The file transfer system includes a trove reader and a transfer reader. The trove reader may communicate with the trove and transfer sections. The transfer reader may have access to the transfer section. The receiver site receives the file delta from the transfer reader. The receiver site includes a file installer, which patches a previously installed version of the file with the file delta.