diff --git a/plugins/code-coverage-backend/README.md b/plugins/code-coverage-backend/README.md
index 2e2f5ba91f..3229dc940f 100644
--- a/plugins/code-coverage-backend/README.md
+++ b/plugins/code-coverage-backend/README.md
@@ -22,12 +22,12 @@ Note: This requires the [`backstage.io/source-location` annotation](https://back
 
 ### Adding cobertura report
 
-POST a cobertura xml to `/:kind/:namespace/:name?coverageType=cobertura`
+POST a cobertura xml to `/report`
 
 Example:
 
 ```json
-// curl -X POST -H "Content-Type:text/xml" -d @cobertura.xml "localhost:7000/api/code-coverage/Component/default/entity-name?coverageType=cobertura"
+// curl -X POST -H "Content-Type:text/xml" -d @cobertura.xml "localhost:7000/api/code-coverage/report?entity=component:default/entity-name&coverageType=cobertura"
 {
   "links": [
     {
@@ -40,12 +40,12 @@ Example:
 
 ### Adding jacoco report
 
-POST a jacoco xml to `/:kind/:namespace/:name?coverageType=jacoco`
+POST a jacoco xml to `/report`
 
 Example:
 
 ```json
-// curl -X POST -H "Content-Type:text/xml" -d @jacoco.xml "localhost:7000/api/code-coverage/Component/default/entity-name?coverageType=jacoco"
+// curl -X POST -H "Content-Type:text/xml" -d @jacoco.xml "localhost:7000/api/code-coverage/report?entity=component:default/entity-name&coverageType=jacoco"
 {
   "links": [
     {
@@ -58,12 +58,12 @@ Example:
 
 ### Reading json coverage
 
-GET `/:kind/:namespace/:name`
+GET `/report`
 
 Example:
 
 ```json
-// curl localhost:7000/api/code-coverage/Component/default/entity-name
+// curl localhost:7000/api/code-coverage/report?entity=component:default/entity-name
 {
   "aggregate": {
     "branch": {
@@ -102,12 +102,12 @@ Example:
 
 ### Coverage history
 
-GET `/:kind/:namespace/:name/history`
+GET `/history`
 
 Example
 
 ```json
-// curl localhost:7000/api/code-coverage/Component/default/entity-name/history
+// curl localhost:7000/api/code-coverage/history?entity=component:default/entity-name
 {
   "entity": {
     "kind": "Component",
diff --git a/plugins/code-coverage-backend/migrations/20210302_init.js b/plugins/code-coverage-backend/migrations/20210302_init.js
index 0edd455e7d..b156a9d08d 100644
--- a/plugins/code-coverage-backend/migrations/20210302_init.js
+++ b/plugins/code-coverage-backend/migrations/20210302_init.js
@@ -27,9 +27,7 @@ exports.up = async function up(knex) {
       .primary()
       .notNullable()
       .comment('The ID of the code coverage');
-    table.text('entity_name').notNullable().comment('entity name');
-    table.text('entity_kind').notNullable().comment('entity kind');
-    table.text('entity_namespace').notNullable().comment('entity namespace');
+    table.text('entity').notNullable().comment('entity string reference');
     table
       .text('coverage')
       .notNullable()
diff --git a/plugins/code-coverage-backend/src/service/CodeCoverageDatabase.test.ts b/plugins/code-coverage-backend/src/service/CodeCoverageDatabase.test.ts
index af734dd358..108146287d 100644
--- a/plugins/code-coverage-backend/src/service/CodeCoverageDatabase.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/code-coverage-backend/src/service/CodeCoverageDatabase.test.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import {
   getVoidLogger,
   SingleConnectionDatabaseManager,
 } from '@backstage/backend-common';
+import { stringifyEntityRef } from '@backstage/catalog-model';
 import { ConfigReader } from '@backstage/config';
 import {
   CodeCoverageDatabase,
@@ -142,11 +143,13 @@ describe('CodeCoverageDatabase', () => {
 
   describe('getCodeCoverage', () => {
     it("can get coverage that's in the database", async () => {
-      const cov = await database.getCodeCoverage({
-        name: 'test-entity',
-        kind: 'Component',
-        namespace: 'default',
-      });
+      const cov = await database.getCodeCoverage(
+        stringifyEntityRef({
+          name: 'test-entity',
+          kind: 'Component',
+          namespace: 'default',
+        }),
+      );
       expect(cov).toEqual(coverage[1]);
     });
   });
@@ -154,11 +157,11 @@ describe('CodeCoverageDatabase', () => {
   describe('getHistory', () => {
     it("can get history that's in the database", async () => {
       const cov = await database.getHistory(
-        {
+        stringifyEntityRef({
           name: 'test-entity',
           kind: 'Component',
           namespace: 'default',
-        },
+        }),
         5,
       );
       expect(cov.history.length).toEqual(2);
diff --git a/plugins/code-coverage-backend/src/service/CodeCoverageDatabase.ts b/plugins/code-coverage-backend/src/service/CodeCoverageDatabase.ts
index 44109e8e2e..cb83c2f606 100644
--- a/plugins/code-coverage-backend/src/service/CodeCoverageDatabase.ts
+++ b/plugins/code-coverage-backend/src/service/CodeCoverageDatabase.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
  */
 import { resolvePackagePath } from '@backstage/backend-common';
 import { NotFoundError } from '@backstage/errors';
-import { EntityName } from '@backstage/catalog-model';
+import { parseEntityName, stringifyEntityRef } from '@backstage/catalog-model';
 import { Knex } from 'knex';
 import { v4 as uuid } from 'uuid';
 import { Logger } from 'winston';
@@ -24,17 +24,15 @@ import { JsonCodeCoverage, JsonCoverageHistory } from './jsoncoverage-types';
 
 export type RawDbCoverageRow = {
   id: string;
-  entity_name: string;
-  entity_namespace: string;
-  entity_kind: string;
+  entity: string;
   coverage: string;
 };
 export interface CodeCoverageStore {
   insertCodeCoverage(
     coverage: JsonCodeCoverage,
   ): Promise<{ codeCoverageId: string }>;
-  getCodeCoverage(entity: EntityName): Promise<JsonCodeCoverage>;
-  getHistory(entity: EntityName, limit: number): Promise<JsonCoverageHistory>;
+  getCodeCoverage(entity: string): Promise<JsonCodeCoverage>;
+  getHistory(entity: string, limit: number): Promise<JsonCoverageHistory>;
 }
 
 const migrationsDir = resolvePackagePath(
@@ -55,22 +53,22 @@ export class CodeCoverageDatabase implements CodeCoverageStore {
     coverage: JsonCodeCoverage,
   ): Promise<{ codeCoverageId: string }> {
     const codeCoverageId = uuid();
+    this.logger.error(JSON.stringify(coverage.entity));
+    const entity = stringifyEntityRef({
+      kind: coverage.entity.kind,
+      namespace: coverage.entity.namespace,
+      name: coverage.entity.name,
+    });
     await this.db<RawDbCoverageRow>('code_coverage').insert({
       id: codeCoverageId,
-      entity_name: coverage.entity.name,
-      entity_kind: coverage.entity.kind,
-      entity_namespace: coverage.entity.namespace,
+      entity: entity,
       coverage: JSON.stringify(coverage),
     });
     return { codeCoverageId };
   }
-  async getCodeCoverage(entity: EntityName): Promise<JsonCodeCoverage> {
+  async getCodeCoverage(entity: string): Promise<JsonCodeCoverage> {
     const [result] = await this.db<RawDbCoverageRow>('code_coverage')
-      .where({
-        entity_name: entity.name,
-        entity_kind: entity.kind,
-        entity_namespace: entity.namespace,
-      })
+      .where({ entity: entity })
       .orderBy('created_at', 'desc')
       .limit(1)
       .select();
@@ -87,15 +85,11 @@ export class CodeCoverageDatabase implements CodeCoverageStore {
   }
 
   async getHistory(
-    entity: EntityName,
+    entity: string,
     limit: number,
   ): Promise<JsonCoverageHistory> {
     const res = await this.db<RawDbCoverageRow>('code_coverage')
-      .where({
-        entity_name: entity.name,
-        entity_kind: entity.kind,
-        entity_namespace: entity.namespace,
-      })
+      .where({ entity: entity })
       .orderBy('created_at', 'desc')
       .limit(limit)
       .select();
@@ -104,8 +98,13 @@ export class CodeCoverageDatabase implements CodeCoverageStore {
       .map(r => JSON.parse(r.coverage))
       .map(c => aggregateCoverage(c));
 
+    const entityName = parseEntityName(entity);
     return {
-      entity,
+      entity: {
+        name: entityName.name,
+        kind: entityName.kind,
+        namespace: entityName.namespace,
+      },
       history: history,
     };
   }
diff --git a/plugins/code-coverage-backend/src/service/CoverageUtils.ts b/plugins/code-coverage-backend/src/service/CoverageUtils.ts
index 0ed1561003..031e72434a 100644
--- a/plugins/code-coverage-backend/src/service/CoverageUtils.ts
+++ b/plugins/code-coverage-backend/src/service/CoverageUtils.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 import { Request } from 'express';
 import { UrlReader } from '@backstage/backend-common';
 import { InputError, NotFoundError } from '@backstage/errors';
-import { Entity } from '@backstage/catalog-model';
+import { Entity, EntityName } from '@backstage/catalog-model';
 import { ScmIntegration, ScmIntegrations } from '@backstage/integration';
 import {
   AggregateCoverage,
diff --git a/plugins/code-coverage-backend/src/service/router.ts b/plugins/code-coverage-backend/src/service/router.ts
index 3f3dcf8a1e..576bc26a31 100644
--- a/plugins/code-coverage-backend/src/service/router.ts
+++ b/plugins/code-coverage-backend/src/service/router.ts
@@ -33,6 +33,11 @@ import { aggregateCoverage, CoverageUtils } from './CoverageUtils';
 import { Cobertura } from './converter/cobertura';
 import { Jacoco } from './converter/jacoco';
 import { Converter } from './converter';
+import {
+  EntityRef,
+  parseEntityName,
+  parseEntityRef,
+} from '@backstage/catalog-model';
 
 export interface RouterOptions {
   config: Config;
@@ -69,19 +74,17 @@ export const makeRouter = async (
     res.status(200).json({ status: 'ok' });
   });
 
-  router.get('/:kind/:namespace/:name', async (req, res) => {
-    const { kind, namespace, name } = req.params;
-    const entity = await catalogApi.getEntityByName({ kind, namespace, name });
-    if (!entity) {
-      throw new NotFoundError(
-        `No entity found matching ${kind}/${namespace}/${name}`,
-      );
+  /**
+   * /report?entity=component:default/mycomponent
+   */
+  router.get('/report', async (req, res) => {
+    const { entity } = req.query;
+    const entityName = parseEntityName(entity as EntityRef);
+    const entityLookup = await catalogApi.getEntityByName(entityName);
+    if (!entityLookup) {
+      throw new NotFoundError(`No entity found matching ${entity}`);
     }
-    const stored = await codeCoverageDatabase.getCodeCoverage({
-      kind,
-      namespace,
-      name,
-    });
+    const stored = await codeCoverageDatabase.getCodeCoverage(entity as string);
 
     const aggregate = aggregateCoverage(stored);
 
@@ -94,45 +97,45 @@ export const makeRouter = async (
     });
   });
 
-  router.get('/:kind/:namespace/:name/history', async (req, res) => {
-    const { kind, namespace, name } = req.params;
-    const entity = await catalogApi.getEntityByName({ kind, namespace, name });
-    if (!entity) {
-      throw new NotFoundError(
-        `No entity found matching ${kind}/${namespace}/${name}`,
-      );
+  /**
+   * /history?entity=component:default/mycomponent
+   */
+  router.get('/history', async (req, res) => {
+    const { entity } = req.query;
+    const entityName = parseEntityName(entity as EntityRef);
+    const entityLookup = await catalogApi.getEntityByName(entityName);
+    if (!entityLookup) {
+      throw new NotFoundError(`No entity found matching ${entity}`);
     }
     const { limit } = req.query;
     const history = await codeCoverageDatabase.getHistory(
-      {
-        kind,
-        namespace,
-        name,
-      },
+      entity as string,
       parseInt(limit?.toString() || '10', 10),
     );
 
     res.status(200).json(history);
   });
 
-  router.get('/:kind/:namespace/:name/file-content', async (req, res) => {
-    const { kind, namespace, name } = req.params;
-    const entity = await catalogApi.getEntityByName({ kind, namespace, name });
-    if (!entity) {
-      throw new NotFoundError(
-        `No entity found matching ${kind}/${namespace}/${name}`,
-      );
+  /**
+   * /file-content?entity=component:default/mycomponent&path=src/some-file.go
+   */
+  router.get('/file-content', async (req, res) => {
+    const { entity, path } = req.query;
+    const entityName = parseEntityName(entity as EntityRef);
+    const entityLookup = await catalogApi.getEntityByName(entityName);
+    if (!entityLookup) {
+      throw new NotFoundError(`No entity found matching ${entity}`);
     }
-    const { path } = req.query;
+
     if (!path) {
       throw new InputError('Need path query parameter');
     }
 
     const sourceLocation =
-      entity.metadata.annotations?.['backstage.io/source-location'];
+      entityLookup.metadata.annotations?.['backstage.io/source-location'];
     if (!sourceLocation) {
       throw new InputError(
-        `No "backstage.io/source-location" annotation on entity ${entity.kind}/${entity.metadata.namespace}/${entity.metadata.name}`,
+        `No "backstage.io/source-location" annotation on entity ${entity}`,
       );
     }
 
@@ -165,9 +168,17 @@ export const makeRouter = async (
     res.status(200).contentType('text/plain').send(data);
   });
 
-  router.post('/:kind/:namespace/:name/', async (req, res) => {
-    const { kind, namespace, name } = req.params;
-    const { coverageType } = req.query;
+  /**
+   * /report?entity=component:default/mycomponent&coverageType=cobertura
+   */
+  router.post('/report', async (req, res) => {
+    const { entity, coverageType } = req.query;
+    const entityName = parseEntityName(entity as EntityRef);
+    const entityLookup = await catalogApi.getEntityByName(entityName);
+    if (!entityLookup) {
+      throw new NotFoundError(`No entity found matching ${entity}`);
+    }
+
     let converter: Converter;
     if (!coverageType) {
       throw new InputError('Need coverageType query parameter');
@@ -178,18 +189,13 @@ export const makeRouter = async (
     } else {
       throw new NotFoundError(`unsupported coverage type '${coverageType}`);
     }
-    const entity = await catalogApi.getEntityByName({ kind, namespace, name });
-    if (!entity) {
-      throw new NotFoundError(
-        `No entity found matching ${kind}/${namespace}/${name}`,
-      );
-    }
+
     const {
       sourceLocation,
       vcs,
       scmFiles,
       body,
-    } = await utils.processCoveragePayload(entity, req);
+    } = await utils.processCoveragePayload(entityLookup, req);
 
     const files = converter.convert(body, scmFiles);
     if (!files || files.length === 0) {
@@ -197,7 +203,7 @@ export const makeRouter = async (
     }
 
     const coverage = await utils.buildCoverage(
-      entity,
+      entityLookup,
       sourceLocation,
       vcs,
       files,
@@ -208,7 +214,7 @@ export const makeRouter = async (
       links: [
         {
           rel: 'coverage',
-          href: `${codecovUrl}/${kind}/${namespace}/${name}`,
+          href: `${codecovUrl}/report?entity=${entity}`,
         },
       ],
     });
diff --git a/plugins/code-coverage/src/api.ts b/plugins/code-coverage/src/api.ts
index da18bde267..000ff132e9 100644
--- a/plugins/code-coverage/src/api.ts
+++ b/plugins/code-coverage/src/api.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 
 import { createApiRef } from '@backstage/core';
 import { Config } from '@backstage/config';
-import { EntityName } from '@backstage/catalog-model';
+import { EntityName, stringifyEntityRef } from '@backstage/catalog-model';
 
 export class FetchError extends Error {
   get name(): string {
@@ -69,33 +69,31 @@ export class CodeCoverageRestApi implements CodeCoverageApi {
     return await resp.text();
   }
 
-  async getCoverageForEntity({
-    kind,
-    namespace,
-    name,
-  }: EntityName): Promise<any> {
-    return await this.fetch<any>(
-      `/api/code-coverage/${kind}/${namespace}/${name}`,
-    );
+  async getCoverageForEntity(entityName: EntityName): Promise<any> {
+    const entity = stringifyEntityRef(entityName);
+    return await this.fetch<any>(`/api/code-coverage/report?entity=${entity}`);
   }
 
   async getFileContentFromEntity(
-    { kind, namespace, name }: EntityName,
+    entityName: EntityName,
     filePath: string,
   ): Promise<any> {
+    const entity = stringifyEntityRef(entityName);
     return await this.fetch<any>(
-      `/api/code-coverage/${kind}/${namespace}/${name}/file-content?path=${filePath}`,
+      /// file-content?entity=component:default/mycomponent&path=src/some-file.go
+      `/api/code-coverage/file-content?entity=${entity}&path=${filePath}`,
     );
   }
 
   async getCoverageHistoryForEntity(
-    { kind, namespace, name }: EntityName,
+    entityName: EntityName,
     limit?: number,
   ): Promise<any> {
+    const entity = stringifyEntityRef(entityName);
     const hasValidLimit = limit && limit > 0;
     return await this.fetch<any>(
-      `/api/code-coverage/${kind}/${namespace}/${name}/history${
-        hasValidLimit ? `?limit=${limit}` : ''
+      `/api/code-coverage/history?entity=${entity}${
+        hasValidLimit ? `&limit=${limit}` : ''
       }`,
     );
   }