diff --git a/.changeset/gold-mangos-agree.md b/.changeset/gold-mangos-agree.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9afd7979e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/gold-mangos-agree.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/create-app': patch
+---
+
+Migrated the backend of the create app template to use the new backend system. For information on how to migrate your existing backend, see the [migration guide](https://backstage.io/docs/backend-system/building-backends/migrating).
diff --git a/packages/create-app/src/lib/tasks.test.ts b/packages/create-app/src/lib/tasks.test.ts
index b1f5e17ba0..522db161eb 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/src/lib/tasks.test.ts
+++ b/packages/create-app/src/lib/tasks.test.ts
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ jest.mock('./versions', () => ({
     root: '1.2.3',
     '@backstage/cli': '1.0.0',
     '@backstage/backend-common': '1.0.0',
+    '@backstage/backend-defaults': '1.0.0',
     '@backstage/backend-tasks': '1.0.0',
     '@backstage/catalog-model': '1.0.0',
     '@backstage/catalog-client': '1.0.0',
@@ -58,10 +59,14 @@ jest.mock('./versions', () => ({
     '@backstage/plugin-app-backend': '1.0.0',
     '@backstage/plugin-auth-backend': '1.0.0',
     '@backstage/plugin-auth-node': '1.0.0',
+    '@backstage/plugin-auth-backend-module-github-provider': '1.0.0',
+    '@backstage/plugin-auth-backend-module-guest-provider': '1.0.0',
     '@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend': '1.0.0',
     '@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend-module-scaffolder-entity-model': '1.0.0',
     '@backstage/plugin-permission-common': '1.0.0',
     '@backstage/plugin-permission-node': '1.0.0',
+    '@backstage/plugin-permission-backend': '1.0.0',
+    '@backstage/plugin-permission-backend-module-allow-all-policy': '1.0.0',
     '@backstage/plugin-proxy-backend': '1.0.0',
     '@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend': '1.0.0',
     '@backstage/plugin-search-backend': '1.0.0',
diff --git a/packages/create-app/src/lib/versions.ts b/packages/create-app/src/lib/versions.ts
index 03ef32d921..76f3c37f78 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/src/lib/versions.ts
+++ b/packages/create-app/src/lib/versions.ts
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import { version as root } from '../../../../package.json';
 
 import { version as appDefaults } from '../../../app-defaults/package.json';
 import { version as backendCommon } from '../../../backend-common/package.json';
+import { version as backendDefaults } from '../../../backend-defaults/package.json';
 import { version as backendTasks } from '../../../backend-tasks/package.json';
 import { version as catalogClient } from '../../../catalog-client/package.json';
 import { version as catalogModel } from '../../../catalog-model/package.json';
@@ -50,6 +51,8 @@ import { version as theme } from '../../../theme/package.json';
 import { version as pluginApiDocs } from '../../../../plugins/api-docs/package.json';
 import { version as pluginAppBackend } from '../../../../plugins/app-backend/package.json';
 import { version as pluginAuthBackend } from '../../../../plugins/auth-backend/package.json';
+import { version as pluginAuthBackendModuleGithubProvider } from '../../../../plugins/auth-backend-module-github-provider/package.json';
+import { version as pluginAuthBackendModuleGuestProvider } from '../../../../plugins/auth-backend-module-guest-provider/package.json';
 import { version as pluginAuthNode } from '../../../../plugins/auth-node/package.json';
 import { version as pluginCatalog } from '../../../../plugins/catalog/package.json';
 import { version as pluginCatalogCommon } from '../../../../plugins/catalog-common/package.json';
@@ -62,6 +65,8 @@ import { version as pluginExplore } from '../../../../plugins/explore/package.js
 import { version as pluginGithubActions } from '../../../../plugins/github-actions/package.json';
 import { version as pluginLighthouse } from '../../../../plugins/lighthouse/package.json';
 import { version as pluginOrg } from '../../../../plugins/org/package.json';
+import { version as pluginPermissionBackend } from '../../../../plugins/permission-backend/package.json';
+import { version as pluginPermissionBackendModulePolicyAllowAll } from '../../../../plugins/permission-backend-module-policy-allow-all/package.json';
 import { version as pluginPermissionCommon } from '../../../../plugins/permission-common/package.json';
 import { version as pluginPermissionReact } from '../../../../plugins/permission-react/package.json';
 import { version as pluginPermissionNode } from '../../../../plugins/permission-node/package.json';
@@ -87,6 +92,7 @@ export const packageVersions = {
   root,
   '@backstage/app-defaults': appDefaults,
   '@backstage/backend-common': backendCommon,
+  '@backstage/backend-defaults': backendDefaults,
   '@backstage/backend-tasks': backendTasks,
   '@backstage/catalog-client': catalogClient,
   '@backstage/catalog-model': catalogModel,
@@ -101,6 +107,10 @@ export const packageVersions = {
   '@backstage/plugin-api-docs': pluginApiDocs,
   '@backstage/plugin-app-backend': pluginAppBackend,
   '@backstage/plugin-auth-backend': pluginAuthBackend,
+  '@backstage/plugin-auth-backend-module-github-provider':
+    pluginAuthBackendModuleGithubProvider,
+  '@backstage/plugin-auth-backend-module-guest-provider':
+    pluginAuthBackendModuleGuestProvider,
   '@backstage/plugin-auth-node': pluginAuthNode,
   '@backstage/plugin-catalog': pluginCatalog,
   '@backstage/plugin-catalog-common': pluginCatalogCommon,
@@ -114,6 +124,9 @@ export const packageVersions = {
   '@backstage/plugin-github-actions': pluginGithubActions,
   '@backstage/plugin-lighthouse': pluginLighthouse,
   '@backstage/plugin-org': pluginOrg,
+  '@backstage/plugin-permission-backend': pluginPermissionBackend,
+  '@backstage/plugin-permission-backend-module-allow-all-policy':
+    pluginPermissionBackendModulePolicyAllowAll,
   '@backstage/plugin-permission-common': pluginPermissionCommon,
   '@backstage/plugin-permission-node': pluginPermissionNode,
   '@backstage/plugin-permission-react': pluginPermissionReact,
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/app-config.production.yaml b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/app-config.production.yaml
index 8f0751cd31..05b02acd4f 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/app-config.production.yaml
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/app-config.production.yaml
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@ backend:
       #   ca: # if you have a CA file and want to verify it you can uncomment this section
       #     $file: <file-path>/ca/server.crt
 
+auth:
+  providers:
+    guest: null
+
 catalog:
   # Overrides the default list locations from app-config.yaml as these contain example data.
   # See https://backstage.io/docs/features/software-catalog/#adding-components-to-the-catalog for more details
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/app-config.yaml.hbs b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/app-config.yaml.hbs
index 08d2abff59..2fdc9a9077 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/app-config.yaml.hbs
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/app-config.yaml.hbs
@@ -64,7 +64,9 @@ techdocs:
 
 auth:
   # see https://backstage.io/docs/auth/ to learn about auth providers
-  providers: {}
+  providers:
+    # See https://backstage.io/docs/auth/guest/provider
+    guest: {}
 
 scaffolder:
   # see https://backstage.io/docs/features/software-templates/configuration for software template options
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/app/e2e-tests/app.test.ts b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/app/e2e-tests/app.test.ts
index d45bc0dbf0..839ff883de 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/app/e2e-tests/app.test.ts
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/app/e2e-tests/app.test.ts
@@ -19,5 +19,9 @@ import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
 test('App should render the welcome page', async ({ page }) => {
   await page.goto('/');
 
+  const enterButton = page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Enter' });
+  await expect(enterButton).toBeVisible();
+  await enterButton.click();
+
   await expect(page.getByText('My Company Catalog')).toBeVisible();
 });
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/app/src/App.tsx b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/app/src/App.tsx
index 8d62f29c52..f751cf6d22 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/app/src/App.tsx
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/app/src/App.tsx
@@ -27,7 +27,11 @@ import { entityPage } from './components/catalog/EntityPage';
 import { searchPage } from './components/search/SearchPage';
 import { Root } from './components/Root';
 
-import { AlertDisplay, OAuthRequestDialog } from '@backstage/core-components';
+import {
+  AlertDisplay,
+  OAuthRequestDialog,
+  SignInPage,
+} from '@backstage/core-components';
 import { createApp } from '@backstage/app-defaults';
 import { AppRouter, FlatRoutes } from '@backstage/core-app-api';
 import { CatalogGraphPage } from '@backstage/plugin-catalog-graph';
@@ -53,6 +57,9 @@ const app = createApp({
       catalogIndex: catalogPlugin.routes.catalogIndex,
     });
   },
+  components: {
+    SignInPage: props => <SignInPage {...props} auto providers={['guest']} />,
+  },
 });
 
 const routes = (
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/package.json.hbs b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/package.json.hbs
index f3ed808afe..93228e5c8f 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/package.json.hbs
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/package.json.hbs
@@ -17,30 +17,30 @@
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@backstage/backend-common": "^{{version '@backstage/backend-common'}}",
+    "@backstage/backend-defaults": "^{{version '@backstage/backend-defaults'}}",
     "@backstage/backend-tasks": "^{{version '@backstage/backend-tasks'}}",
-    "@backstage/catalog-client": "^{{version '@backstage/catalog-client'}}",
-    "@backstage/catalog-model": "^{{version '@backstage/catalog-model'}}",
     "@backstage/config": "^{{version '@backstage/config'}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-app-backend": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-app-backend'}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-auth-backend": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-auth-backend'}}",
+    "@backstage/plugin-auth-backend-module-github-provider": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-auth-backend-module-github-provider'}}",
+    "@backstage/plugin-auth-backend-module-guest-provider": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-auth-backend-module-guest-provider'}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-auth-node": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-auth-node'}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend'}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend-module-scaffolder-entity-model": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend-module-scaffolder-entity-model'}}",
+    "@backstage/plugin-permission-backend": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-permission-backend'}}",
+    "@backstage/plugin-permission-backend-module-allow-all-policy": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-permission-backend-module-allow-all-policy'}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-permission-common": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-permission-common'}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-permission-node": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-permission-node'}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-proxy-backend": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-proxy-backend'}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend'}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-search-backend": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-search-backend'}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-search-backend-module-catalog": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-search-backend-module-catalog'}}",
-    "@backstage/plugin-search-backend-module-pg": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-search-backend-module-pg'}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-search-backend-module-techdocs": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-search-backend-module-techdocs'}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-search-backend-node": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-search-backend-node'}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-techdocs-backend": "^{{version '@backstage/plugin-techdocs-backend'}}",
     "app": "link:../app",
     "better-sqlite3": "^9.0.0",
     "dockerode": "^3.3.1",
-    "express": "^4.17.1",
-    "express-promise-router": "^4.1.0",
     "node-gyp": "^9.0.0",
     "pg": "^8.11.3",
     "winston": "^3.2.1"
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/index.ts b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/index.ts
index 04c4ff9392..44fde697ec 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/index.ts
@@ -6,110 +6,36 @@
  * Happy hacking!
  */
 
-import Router from 'express-promise-router';
-import {
-  createServiceBuilder,
-  loadBackendConfig,
-  getRootLogger,
-  useHotMemoize,
-  notFoundHandler,
-  CacheManager,
-  DatabaseManager,
-  HostDiscovery,
-  UrlReaders,
-  ServerTokenManager,
-} from '@backstage/backend-common';
-import { TaskScheduler } from '@backstage/backend-tasks';
-import { Config } from '@backstage/config';
-import app from './plugins/app';
-import auth from './plugins/auth';
-import catalog from './plugins/catalog';
-import scaffolder from './plugins/scaffolder';
-import proxy from './plugins/proxy';
-import techdocs from './plugins/techdocs';
-import search from './plugins/search';
-import { PluginEnvironment } from './types';
-import { ServerPermissionClient } from '@backstage/plugin-permission-node';
-import { DefaultIdentityClient } from '@backstage/plugin-auth-node';
+import { createBackend } from '@backstage/backend-defaults';
 
-function makeCreateEnv(config: Config) {
-  const root = getRootLogger();
-  const reader = UrlReaders.default({ logger: root, config });
-  const discovery = HostDiscovery.fromConfig(config);
-  const cacheManager = CacheManager.fromConfig(config);
-  const databaseManager = DatabaseManager.fromConfig(config, { logger: root });
-  const tokenManager = ServerTokenManager.noop();
-  const taskScheduler = TaskScheduler.fromConfig(config, { databaseManager });
+const backend = createBackend();
 
-  const identity = DefaultIdentityClient.create({
-    discovery,
-  });
-  const permissions = ServerPermissionClient.fromConfig(config, {
-    discovery,
-    tokenManager,
-  });
+backend.add(import('@backstage/plugin-app-backend/alpha'));
+backend.add(import('@backstage/plugin-proxy-backend/alpha'));
+backend.add(import('@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend/alpha'));
+backend.add(import('@backstage/plugin-techdocs-backend/alpha'));
 
-  root.info(`Created UrlReader ${reader}`);
+// auth plugin
+backend.add(import('@backstage/plugin-auth-backend'));
+// See https://backstage.io/docs/backend-system/building-backends/migrating#the-auth-plugin
+backend.add(import('@backstage/plugin-auth-backend-module-guest-provider'));
+// See https://github.com/backstage/backstage/blob/master/docs/auth/guest/provider.md
 
-  return (plugin: string): PluginEnvironment => {
-    const logger = root.child({ type: 'plugin', plugin });
-    const database = databaseManager.forPlugin(plugin);
-    const cache = cacheManager.forPlugin(plugin);
-    const scheduler = taskScheduler.forPlugin(plugin);
-    return {
-      logger,
-      database,
-      cache,
-      config,
-      reader,
-      discovery,
-      tokenManager,
-      scheduler,
-      permissions,
-      identity,
-    };
-  };
-}
+// catalog plugin
+backend.add(import('@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend/alpha'));
+backend.add(
+  import('@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend-module-scaffolder-entity-model'),
+);
 
-async function main() {
-  const config = await loadBackendConfig({
-    argv: process.argv,
-    logger: getRootLogger(),
-  });
-  const createEnv = makeCreateEnv(config);
+// permission plugin
+backend.add(import('@backstage/plugin-permission-backend/alpha'));
+backend.add(
+  import('@backstage/plugin-permission-backend-module-allow-all-policy'),
+);
 
-  const catalogEnv = useHotMemoize(module, () => createEnv('catalog'));
-  const scaffolderEnv = useHotMemoize(module, () => createEnv('scaffolder'));
-  const authEnv = useHotMemoize(module, () => createEnv('auth'));
-  const proxyEnv = useHotMemoize(module, () => createEnv('proxy'));
-  const techdocsEnv = useHotMemoize(module, () => createEnv('techdocs'));
-  const searchEnv = useHotMemoize(module, () => createEnv('search'));
-  const appEnv = useHotMemoize(module, () => createEnv('app'));
+// search plugin
+backend.add(import('@backstage/plugin-search-backend/alpha'));
+backend.add(import('@backstage/plugin-search-backend-module-catalog/alpha'));
+backend.add(import('@backstage/plugin-search-backend-module-techdocs/alpha'));
 
-  const apiRouter = Router();
-  apiRouter.use('/catalog', await catalog(catalogEnv));
-  apiRouter.use('/scaffolder', await scaffolder(scaffolderEnv));
-  apiRouter.use('/auth', await auth(authEnv));
-  apiRouter.use('/techdocs', await techdocs(techdocsEnv));
-  apiRouter.use('/proxy', await proxy(proxyEnv));
-  apiRouter.use('/search', await search(searchEnv));
-
-  // Add backends ABOVE this line; this 404 handler is the catch-all fallback
-  apiRouter.use(notFoundHandler());
-
-  const service = createServiceBuilder(module)
-    .loadConfig(config)
-    .addRouter('/api', apiRouter)
-    .addRouter('', await app(appEnv));
-
-  await service.start().catch(err => {
-    console.log(err);
-    process.exit(1);
-  });
-}
-
-module.hot?.accept();
-main().catch(error => {
-  console.error('Backend failed to start up', error);
-  process.exit(1);
-});
+backend.start();
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/app.ts b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/app.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 7c37f68467..0000000000
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/app.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-import { createRouter } from '@backstage/plugin-app-backend';
-import { Router } from 'express';
-import { PluginEnvironment } from '../types';
-
-export default async function createPlugin(
-  env: PluginEnvironment,
-): Promise<Router> {
-  return await createRouter({
-    logger: env.logger,
-    config: env.config,
-    database: env.database,
-    appPackageName: 'app',
-  });
-}
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/auth.ts b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/auth.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 77eb6aae21..0000000000
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/auth.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,54 +0,0 @@
-import {
-  createRouter,
-  providers,
-  defaultAuthProviderFactories,
-} from '@backstage/plugin-auth-backend';
-import { Router } from 'express';
-import { PluginEnvironment } from '../types';
-
-export default async function createPlugin(
-  env: PluginEnvironment,
-): Promise<Router> {
-  return await createRouter({
-    logger: env.logger,
-    config: env.config,
-    database: env.database,
-    discovery: env.discovery,
-    tokenManager: env.tokenManager,
-    providerFactories: {
-      ...defaultAuthProviderFactories,
-
-      // This replaces the default GitHub auth provider with a customized one.
-      // The `signIn` option enables sign-in for this provider, using the
-      // identity resolution logic that's provided in the `resolver` callback.
-      //
-      // This particular resolver makes all users share a single "guest" identity.
-      // It should only be used for testing and trying out Backstage.
-      //
-      // If you want to use a production ready resolver you can switch to
-      // the one that is commented out below, it looks up a user entity in the
-      // catalog using the GitHub username of the authenticated user.
-      // That resolver requires you to have user entities populated in the catalog,
-      // for example using https://backstage.io/docs/integrations/github/org
-      //
-      // There are other resolvers to choose from, and you can also create
-      // your own, see the auth documentation for more details:
-      //
-      //   https://backstage.io/docs/auth/identity-resolver
-      github: providers.github.create({
-        signIn: {
-          resolver(_, ctx) {
-            const userRef = 'user:default/guest'; // Must be a full entity reference
-            return ctx.issueToken({
-              claims: {
-                sub: userRef, // The user's own identity
-                ent: [userRef], // A list of identities that the user claims ownership through
-              },
-            });
-          },
-          // resolver: providers.github.resolvers.usernameMatchingUserEntityName(),
-        },
-      }),
-    },
-  });
-}
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/catalog.ts b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/catalog.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 4decdca1c4..0000000000
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/catalog.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-import { CatalogBuilder } from '@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend';
-import { ScaffolderEntitiesProcessor } from '@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend-module-scaffolder-entity-model';
-import { Router } from 'express';
-import { PluginEnvironment } from '../types';
-
-export default async function createPlugin(
-  env: PluginEnvironment,
-): Promise<Router> {
-  const builder = await CatalogBuilder.create(env);
-  builder.addProcessor(new ScaffolderEntitiesProcessor());
-  const { processingEngine, router } = await builder.build();
-  await processingEngine.start();
-  return router;
-}
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/proxy.ts b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/proxy.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 54ec3937e9..0000000000
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/proxy.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-import { createRouter } from '@backstage/plugin-proxy-backend';
-import { Router } from 'express';
-import { PluginEnvironment } from '../types';
-
-export default async function createPlugin(
-  env: PluginEnvironment,
-): Promise<Router> {
-  return await createRouter({
-    logger: env.logger,
-    config: env.config,
-    discovery: env.discovery,
-  });
-}
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/scaffolder.ts b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/scaffolder.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index a12fee2295..0000000000
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/scaffolder.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-import { CatalogClient } from '@backstage/catalog-client';
-import { createRouter } from '@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend';
-import { Router } from 'express';
-import type { PluginEnvironment } from '../types';
-
-export default async function createPlugin(
-  env: PluginEnvironment,
-): Promise<Router> {
-  const catalogClient = new CatalogClient({
-    discoveryApi: env.discovery,
-  });
-
-  return await createRouter({
-    logger: env.logger,
-    config: env.config,
-    database: env.database,
-    reader: env.reader,
-    catalogClient,
-    identity: env.identity,
-    permissions: env.permissions,
-  });
-}
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/search.ts.hbs b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/search.ts.hbs
deleted file mode 100644
index 467ac60a5a..0000000000
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/search.ts.hbs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,66 +0,0 @@
-import { useHotCleanup } from '@backstage/backend-common';
-import { createRouter } from '@backstage/plugin-search-backend';
-import {
-  IndexBuilder,
-  LunrSearchEngine,
-} from '@backstage/plugin-search-backend-node';
-import { PluginEnvironment } from '../types';
-import { DefaultCatalogCollatorFactory } from '@backstage/plugin-search-backend-module-catalog';
-import { DefaultTechDocsCollatorFactory } from '@backstage/plugin-search-backend-module-techdocs';
-import { Router } from 'express';
-
-export default async function createPlugin(
-  env: PluginEnvironment,
-): Promise<Router> {
-  // Initialize a connection to a search engine.
-  const searchEngine = new LunrSearchEngine({
-    logger: env.logger,
-  });
-  const indexBuilder = new IndexBuilder({
-    logger: env.logger,
-    searchEngine,
-  });
-
-  const schedule = env.scheduler.createScheduledTaskRunner({
-    frequency: { minutes: 10 },
-    timeout: { minutes: 15 },
-    // A 3 second delay gives the backend server a chance to initialize before
-    // any collators are executed, which may attempt requests against the API.
-    initialDelay: { seconds: 3 },
-  });
-
-  // Collators are responsible for gathering documents known to plugins. This
-  // collator gathers entities from the software catalog.
-  indexBuilder.addCollator({
-    schedule,
-    factory: DefaultCatalogCollatorFactory.fromConfig(env.config, {
-      discovery: env.discovery,
-      tokenManager: env.tokenManager,
-    }),
-  });
-
-  // collator gathers entities from techdocs.
-  indexBuilder.addCollator({
-    schedule,
-    factory: DefaultTechDocsCollatorFactory.fromConfig(env.config, {
-      discovery: env.discovery,
-      logger: env.logger,
-      tokenManager: env.tokenManager,
-    }),
-  });
-
-  // The scheduler controls when documents are gathered from collators and sent
-  // to the search engine for indexing.
-  const { scheduler } = await indexBuilder.build();
-  scheduler.start();
-
-  useHotCleanup(module, () => scheduler.stop());
-
-  return await createRouter({
-    engine: indexBuilder.getSearchEngine(),
-    types: indexBuilder.getDocumentTypes(),
-    permissions: env.permissions,
-    config: env.config,
-    logger: env.logger,
-  });
-}
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/techdocs.ts b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/techdocs.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index be8bb0c06f..0000000000
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/plugins/techdocs.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,51 +0,0 @@
-import { DockerContainerRunner } from '@backstage/backend-common';
-import {
-  createRouter,
-  Generators,
-  Preparers,
-  Publisher,
-} from '@backstage/plugin-techdocs-backend';
-import Docker from 'dockerode';
-import { Router } from 'express';
-import { PluginEnvironment } from '../types';
-
-export default async function createPlugin(
-  env: PluginEnvironment,
-): Promise<Router> {
-  // Preparers are responsible for fetching source files for documentation.
-  const preparers = await Preparers.fromConfig(env.config, {
-    logger: env.logger,
-    reader: env.reader,
-  });
-
-  // Docker client (conditionally) used by the generators, based on techdocs.generators config.
-  const dockerClient = new Docker();
-  const containerRunner = new DockerContainerRunner({ dockerClient });
-
-  // Generators are used for generating documentation sites.
-  const generators = await Generators.fromConfig(env.config, {
-    logger: env.logger,
-    containerRunner,
-  });
-
-  // Publisher is used for
-  // 1. Publishing generated files to storage
-  // 2. Fetching files from storage and passing them to TechDocs frontend.
-  const publisher = await Publisher.fromConfig(env.config, {
-    logger: env.logger,
-    discovery: env.discovery,
-  });
-
-  // checks if the publisher is working and logs the result
-  await publisher.getReadiness();
-
-  return await createRouter({
-    preparers,
-    generators,
-    publisher,
-    logger: env.logger,
-    config: env.config,
-    discovery: env.discovery,
-    cache: env.cache,
-  });
-}
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/playwright.config.ts b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/playwright.config.ts
index 37c7fb14c7..733be130bd 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/playwright.config.ts
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
     ? []
     : [
         {
-          command: 'yarn start',
+          command: 'yarn dev',
           port: 3000,
           reuseExistingServer: true,
           timeout: 60_000,
diff --git a/packages/e2e-test/src/commands/run.ts b/packages/e2e-test/src/commands/run.ts
index 9a9bf556ee..a1b35049ab 100644
--- a/packages/e2e-test/src/commands/run.ts
+++ b/packages/e2e-test/src/commands/run.ts
@@ -418,6 +418,9 @@ async function switchToReact17(appDir: string) {
     'react-dom': '^17.0.0',
     '@types/react': '^17.0.0',
     '@types/react-dom': '^17.0.0',
+    'swagger-ui-react/react': '17.0.2',
+    'swagger-ui-react/react-dom': '17.0.2',
+    'swagger-ui-react/react-redux': '^8',
   };
   await fs.writeJson(resolvePath(appDir, 'package.json'), rootPkg, {
     spaces: 2,