diff --git a/docs/features/software-catalog/index.md b/docs/features/software-catalog/index.md
index 06785515f6..8a43a6eca3 100644
--- a/docs/features/software-catalog/index.md
+++ b/docs/features/software-catalog/index.md
@@ -25,6 +25,13 @@ More specifically, the Service Catalog enables two main use-cases:
 2. Makes all the software in your company, and who owns it, discoverable. No
    more orphan software hiding in the dark corners of your software ecosystem.
 
+## Getting Started
+
+The Software Catalog is available to browse on the start page at `/`. If you've
+followed [Installing in your Backstage App](./installation.md) in your separate
+App or [Getting Started with Backstage](../../getting-started) for this repo,
+you should be able to browse the catalog at `http://localhost:3000`.
+
 ![](service-catalog-home.png)
 
 ## Adding components to the catalog
diff --git a/docs/features/software-catalog/installation.md b/docs/features/software-catalog/installation.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..974cb5b8f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/features/software-catalog/installation.md
@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+# Installing in your Backstage App
+
+The catalog plugin comes in two packages, `@backstage/plugin-catalog` and
+`@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend`. Each has their own installation steps,
+outlined below.
+
+## Installing @backstage/plugin-catalog
+
+> **Note that if you used `npx @backstage/create-app`, the plugin may already be
+> present**
+
+The catalog frontend plugin should be installed in your `app` package, which is
+created as a part of `@backstage/create-app`. To install the package, run:
+
+```bash
+cd packages/app
+yarn add @backstage/plugin-catalog
+```
+
+Make sure the version of `@backstage/plugin-catalog` matches the version of
+other `@backstage` packages. You can update it in `packages/app/package.json` if
+it doesn't.
+
+### Adding the Plugin to your `packages/app`
+
+Add the following entry to the head of your `packages/app/src/plugins.ts`:
+
+```ts
+export { plugin as CatalogPlugin } from '@backstage/plugin-catalog';
+```
+
+Add the following to your `packages/app/src/apis.ts`:
+
+```ts
+import { catalogApiRef, CatalogClient } from '@backstage/plugin-catalog';
+
+// Inside the ApiRegistry builder function ...
+
+builder.add(
+  catalogApiRef,
+  new CatalogClient({
+    apiOrigin: backendUrl,
+    basePath: '/catalog',
+  }),
+);
+```
+
+Where `backendUrl` is the `backend.baseUrl` from config, i.e.
+`const backendUrl = config.getString('backend.baseUrl')`.
+
+The catalog components depend on a number of other
+[Utility APIs](/docs/api/utility-apis.md) to function, including at least the
+`ErrorApi` and `StorageApi`. You can find an example of how to install these in
+your app
+[here](https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/61c3a7e5b750dc7c059ef16b188594d31b2c04c2/packages/app/src/apis.ts#L80).
+
+## Gotchas that we will fix
+
+Since the catalog plugin currently ships with a sentry plugin `InfoCard`
+installed by default, you'll need to set `sentry.organization` in your
+`app-yaml.yaml`. For example:
+
+```yaml
+sentry:
+  organization: Acme Corporation
+```
+
+If you've created an app with an older version of `@backstage/create-app` or
+`@backstage/cli create-app`, be sure to remove the Welcome plugin from the app,
+as that will conflict with the catalog routes.
+
+## Installing @backstage/plugin-catalog-backend
+
+> **Note that if you used `npx @backstage/create-app`, the plugin may already be
+> present**
+
+The catalog backend should be installed in your `backend` package, which is
+created as a part of `@backstage/create-app`. To install the package, run:
+
+```bash
+cd packages/backend
+yarn add @backstage/plugin-catalog-backend
+```
+
+Make sure the version of `@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend` matches the version
+of other `@backstage` packages. You can update it in
+`packages/backend/package.json` if it doesn't.
+
+### Adding the Plugin to your `packages/backend`
+
+You'll need to add the plugin to the `backend`'s router. You can do this by
+creating a file called `packages/backend/src/plugins/catalog.ts` with the
+following contents to get you up and running quickly.
+
+```ts
+import {
+  createRouter,
+  DatabaseEntitiesCatalog,
+  DatabaseLocationsCatalog,
+  DatabaseManager,
+  HigherOrderOperations,
+  LocationReaders,
+  runPeriodically,
+} from '@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend';
+import { PluginEnvironment } from '../types';
+import { useHotCleanup } from '@backstage/backend-common';
+
+export default async function createPlugin({
+  logger,
+  database,
+}: PluginEnvironment) {
+  const locationReader = new LocationReaders(logger);
+
+  const db = await DatabaseManager.createDatabase(database, { logger });
+  const entitiesCatalog = new DatabaseEntitiesCatalog(db);
+  const locationsCatalog = new DatabaseLocationsCatalog(db);
+  const higherOrderOperation = new HigherOrderOperations(
+    entitiesCatalog,
+    locationsCatalog,
+    locationReader,
+    logger,
+  );
+
+  useHotCleanup(
+    module,
+    runPeriodically(() => higherOrderOperation.refreshAllLocations(), 10000),
+  );
+
+  return await createRouter({
+    entitiesCatalog,
+    locationsCatalog,
+    higherOrderOperation,
+    logger,
+  });
+}
+```
+
+Once the `catalog.ts` router setup file is in place, add the router to
+`packages/backend/src/index.ts`:
+
+```ts
+import catalog from './plugins/catalog';
+
+const catalogEnv = useHotMemoize(module, () => createEnv('catalog'));
+
+const service = createServiceBuilder(module)
+  .loadConfig(configReader)
+  /** several different routers */
+  .addRouter('/catalog', await catalog(catalogEnv));
+```
+
+### Adding Entries to the Catalog
+
+At this point the catalog backend is installed in your backend package, but you
+will not have any entities loaded.
+
+To get up and running and try out some templates quickly, you can add some of
+our example templates through static configuration. Add the following to the
+`catalog.locations` section in your `app-config.yaml`:
+
+```yaml
+catalog:
+  locations:
+    # Backstage Example Component
+    type: github
+    target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/artist-lookup-component.yaml
+    type: github
+    target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/playback-order-component.yaml
+    type: github
+    target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/podcast-api-component.yaml
+    type: github
+    target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/queue-proxy-component.yaml
+    type: github
+    target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/searcher-component.yaml
+    type: github
+    target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/playback-lib-component.yaml
+    type: github
+    target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/www-artist-component.yaml
+    type: github
+    target: https://github.com/spotify/backstage/blob/master/packages/catalog-model/examples/shuffle-api-component.yaml
+```
+
+### Running the Backend
+
+Finally, start up the backend with the new configuration:
+
+```bash
+cd packages/backend
+yarn start
+```
+
+If you've also set up the frontend plugin, so you should be ready to go browse
+the catalog at [localhost:3000](http://localhost:3000) now!