diff --git a/packages/backend-common/package.json b/packages/backend-common/package.json
index 617c29105b..7a8886adc3 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/package.json
+++ b/packages/backend-common/package.json
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
     "@types/http-errors": "^1.6.3",
     "@types/morgan": "^1.9.0",
     "@types/supertest": "^2.0.8",
+    "@types/yaml": "^1.9.7",
     "get-port": "^5.1.1",
     "http-errors": "^1.7.3",
     "jest": "^25.1.0",
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/fixtures/component1.yaml b/plugins/catalog-backend/fixtures/component1.yaml
index 8db5cfc851..b0b54e0902 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/fixtures/component1.yaml
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/fixtures/component1.yaml
@@ -1 +1,6 @@
-name: Component1
+apiVersion: catalog.backstage.io/v1
+kind: Component
+metadata:
+  name: component1
+spec:
+  type: service
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/catalog/DatabaseCatalog.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/catalog/DatabaseCatalog.ts
index d28278c496..51cccf2286 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/catalog/DatabaseCatalog.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/catalog/DatabaseCatalog.ts
@@ -17,42 +17,10 @@
 import { NotFoundError } from '@backstage/backend-common';
 import Knex from 'knex';
 import path from 'path';
-import fs from 'fs-extra';
 import { v4 as uuidv4 } from 'uuid';
 import { Logger } from 'winston';
-import {
-  AddLocationRequest,
-  Catalog,
-  Component,
-  Location,
-  componentShape,
-} from './types';
-import YAML from 'yaml';
-
-async function readLocation(location: Location): Promise<Component[]> {
-  switch (location.type) {
-    case 'file': {
-      let parsed;
-      try {
-        const raw = await fs.readFile(location.target, 'utf8');
-        parsed = YAML.parse(raw);
-      } catch (e) {
-        throw new Error(`Unable to read "${location.target}", ${e}`);
-      }
-
-      try {
-        return [await componentShape.validate(parsed, { strict: true })];
-      } catch (e) {
-        throw new Error(
-          `Malformed file contents at "${location.target}", ${e}`,
-        );
-      }
-    }
-
-    default:
-      throw new Error(`Unknown type "${location.type}"`);
-  }
-}
+import { readLocation } from '../ingestion';
+import { AddLocationRequest, Catalog, Component, Location } from './types';
 
 export class DatabaseCatalog implements Catalog {
   static async create(
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/catalog/types.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/catalog/types.ts
index abac94345d..e91c5f8267 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/catalog/types.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/catalog/types.ts
@@ -20,12 +20,6 @@ export type Component = {
   name: string;
 };
 
-export const componentShape: yup.Schema<Component> = yup
-  .object({
-    name: yup.string().required(),
-  })
-  .unknown();
-
 export type Location = {
   id: string;
   type: string;
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/descriptors/component.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/descriptors/component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cb0c30aa61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/descriptors/component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2020 Spotify AB
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+import * as yup from 'yup';
+import { DescriptorEnvelope } from './envelope';
+import { Component } from '../catalog/types';
+
+export type ComponentDescriptor = {
+  metadata: {
+    name: string;
+  };
+  spec: {
+    type: string;
+  };
+};
+
+const componentDescriptorSchema: yup.Schema<ComponentDescriptor> = yup.object({
+  metadata: yup.object({
+    name: yup.string().required(),
+  }),
+  spec: yup.object({
+    type: yup.string().required(),
+  }),
+});
+
+export async function parseComponentDescriptor(
+  envelope: DescriptorEnvelope,
+): Promise<Component[]> {
+  let componentDescriptor;
+  try {
+    componentDescriptor = await componentDescriptorSchema.validate(envelope, {
+      strict: true,
+    });
+  } catch (e) {
+    throw new Error(`Malformed component, ${e}`);
+  }
+
+  const component: Component = {
+    name: componentDescriptor.metadata.name,
+  };
+
+  return [component];
+}
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/descriptors/envelope.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/descriptors/envelope.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..dd78d860ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/descriptors/envelope.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2020 Spotify AB
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+import yaml from 'yaml';
+import * as yup from 'yup';
+
+export type DescriptorEnvelope = {
+  apiVersion: string;
+  kind: string;
+  metadata?: object;
+  spec?: object;
+};
+
+const descriptorEnvelopeSchema: yup.Schema<DescriptorEnvelope> = yup
+  .object({
+    apiVersion: yup.string().required(),
+    kind: yup.string().required(),
+    metadata: yup.object(),
+    spec: yup.object(),
+  })
+  .noUnknown();
+
+export async function parseDescriptorEnvelope(
+  rawYaml: string,
+): Promise<DescriptorEnvelope> {
+  let descriptor;
+  try {
+    descriptor = yaml.parse(rawYaml);
+  } catch (e) {
+    throw new Error(`Malformed YAML, ${e}`);
+  }
+
+  try {
+    return await descriptorEnvelopeSchema.validate(descriptor, {
+      strict: true,
+    });
+  } catch (e) {
+    throw new Error(`Malformed envelope, ${e}`);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/descriptors/index.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/descriptors/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..db3fd4c938
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/descriptors/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2020 Spotify AB
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+export * from './component';
+export * from './envelope';
+export * from './util';
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/descriptors/util.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/descriptors/util.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e7b4944215
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/descriptors/util.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2020 Spotify AB
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+import { Component } from '../catalog/types';
+import { parseComponentDescriptor } from './component';
+import { parseDescriptorEnvelope } from './envelope';
+
+// TODO(freben): Temporary helper that ignores the kind
+export async function parseDescriptor(rawYaml: string): Promise<Component[]> {
+  const env = await parseDescriptorEnvelope(rawYaml);
+  return await parseComponentDescriptor(env);
+}
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/fileLocation.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/fileLocation.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..524721035e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/fileLocation.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2020 Spotify AB
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+import fs from 'fs-extra';
+import { parseDescriptor } from '../descriptors';
+import { Component } from '../catalog/types';
+
+export async function readFileLocation(target: string): Promise<Component[]> {
+  let rawYaml;
+  try {
+    rawYaml = await fs.readFile(target, 'utf8');
+  } catch (e) {
+    throw new Error(`Unable to read "${target}", ${e}`);
+  }
+
+  try {
+    return parseDescriptor(rawYaml);
+  } catch (e) {
+    throw new Error(`Malformed descriptor at "${target}", ${e}`);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/index.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..775fe29f84
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2020 Spotify AB
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+export * from './fileLocation';
+export * from './util';
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/util.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/util.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..91b7ad2678
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/util.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2020 Spotify AB
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+import { Component, Location } from '../catalog/types';
+import { readFileLocation } from './fileLocation';
+
+export async function readLocation(location: Location): Promise<Component[]> {
+  switch (location.type) {
+    case 'file':
+      return await readFileLocation(location.target);
+    default:
+      throw new Error(`Unknown type "${location.type}"`);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 4168fce334..d312e5b03b 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -4602,6 +4602,13 @@
     "@types/webpack-sources" "*"
     source-map "^0.6.0"
 
+"@types/yaml@^1.9.7":
+  version "1.9.7"
+  resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/yaml/-/yaml-1.9.7.tgz#2331f36e0aac91311a63d33eb026c21687729679"
+  integrity sha512-8WMXRDD1D+wCohjfslHDgICd2JtMATZU8CkhH8LVJqcJs6dyYj5TGptzP8wApbmEullGBSsCEzzap73DQ1HJaA==
+  dependencies:
+    yaml "*"
+
 "@types/yargs-parser@*":
   version "15.0.0"
   resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/yargs-parser/-/yargs-parser-15.0.0.tgz#cb3f9f741869e20cce330ffbeb9271590483882d"
@@ -22129,6 +22136,13 @@ yallist@^4.0.0:
   resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/yallist/-/yallist-4.0.0.tgz#9bb92790d9c0effec63be73519e11a35019a3a72"
   integrity sha512-3wdGidZyq5PB084XLES5TpOSRA3wjXAlIWMhum2kRcv/41Sn2emQ0dycQW4uZXLejwKvg6EsvbdlVL+FYEct7A==
 
+yaml@*, yaml@^1.9.2:
+  version "1.9.2"
+  resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/yaml/-/yaml-1.9.2.tgz#f0cfa865f003ab707663e4f04b3956957ea564ed"
+  integrity sha512-HPT7cGGI0DuRcsO51qC1j9O16Dh1mZ2bnXwsi0jrSpsLz0WxOLSLXfkABVl6bZO629py3CU+OMJtpNHDLB97kg==
+  dependencies:
+    "@babel/runtime" "^7.9.2"
+
 yaml@^1.7.2:
   version "1.8.3"
   resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/yaml/-/yaml-1.8.3.tgz#2f420fca58b68ce3a332d0ca64be1d191dd3f87a"
@@ -22136,13 +22150,6 @@ yaml@^1.7.2:
   dependencies:
     "@babel/runtime" "^7.8.7"
 
-yaml@^1.9.2:
-  version "1.9.2"
-  resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/yaml/-/yaml-1.9.2.tgz#f0cfa865f003ab707663e4f04b3956957ea564ed"
-  integrity sha512-HPT7cGGI0DuRcsO51qC1j9O16Dh1mZ2bnXwsi0jrSpsLz0WxOLSLXfkABVl6bZO629py3CU+OMJtpNHDLB97kg==
-  dependencies:
-    "@babel/runtime" "^7.9.2"
-
 yargs-parser@^10.0.0:
   version "10.1.0"
   resolved "https://registry.npmjs.org/yargs-parser/-/yargs-parser-10.1.0.tgz#7202265b89f7e9e9f2e5765e0fe735a905edbaa8"