diff --git a/packages/backend-common/api-report.md b/packages/backend-common/api-report.md
index 784f3295c6..abb45b0fe7 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/api-report.md
+++ b/packages/backend-common/api-report.md
@@ -33,9 +33,19 @@ import { MergeResult } from 'isomorphic-git';
 import { PushResult } from 'isomorphic-git';
 import { Readable } from 'stream';
 import { ReadCommitResult } from 'isomorphic-git';
+import { ReadTreeOptions } from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api';
+import { ReadTreeResponse } from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api';
+import { ReadTreeResponseDirOptions } from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api';
+import { ReadTreeResponseFile } from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api';
+import { ReadUrlOptions } from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api';
+import { ReadUrlResponse } from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api';
 import { RequestHandler } from 'express';
 import { Router } from 'express';
+import { SearchOptions } from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api';
+import { SearchResponse } from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api';
+import { SearchResponseFile } from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api';
 import { Server } from 'http';
+import { UrlReaderService as UrlReader } from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api';
 import { V1PodTemplateSpec } from '@kubernetes/client-node';
 import * as winston from 'winston';
 import { Writable } from 'stream';
@@ -533,30 +543,11 @@ export type ReaderFactory = (options: {
   treeResponseFactory: ReadTreeResponseFactory;
 }) => UrlReaderPredicateTuple[];
 
-// @public
-export type ReadTreeOptions = {
-  filter?(
-    path: string,
-    info?: {
-      size: number;
-    },
-  ): boolean;
-  etag?: string;
-  signal?: AbortSignal;
-};
+export { ReadTreeOptions };
 
-// @public
-export type ReadTreeResponse = {
-  files(): Promise<ReadTreeResponseFile[]>;
-  archive(): Promise<NodeJS.ReadableStream>;
-  dir(options?: ReadTreeResponseDirOptions): Promise<string>;
-  etag: string;
-};
+export { ReadTreeResponse };
 
-// @public
-export type ReadTreeResponseDirOptions = {
-  targetDir?: string;
-};
+export { ReadTreeResponseDirOptions };
 
 // @public
 export interface ReadTreeResponseFactory {
@@ -587,24 +578,11 @@ export type ReadTreeResponseFactoryOptions = {
   ) => boolean;
 };
 
-// @public
-export type ReadTreeResponseFile = {
-  path: string;
-  content(): Promise<Buffer>;
-};
+export { ReadTreeResponseFile };
 
-// @public
-export type ReadUrlOptions = {
-  etag?: string;
-  signal?: AbortSignal;
-};
+export { ReadUrlOptions };
 
-// @public
-export type ReadUrlResponse = {
-  buffer(): Promise<Buffer>;
-  stream?(): Readable;
-  etag?: string;
-};
+export { ReadUrlResponse };
 
 // @public
 export class ReadUrlResponseFactory {
@@ -652,23 +630,11 @@ export type RunContainerOptions = {
   pullImage?: boolean;
 };
 
-// @public
-export type SearchOptions = {
-  etag?: string;
-  signal?: AbortSignal;
-};
+export { SearchOptions };
 
-// @public
-export type SearchResponse = {
-  files: SearchResponseFile[];
-  etag: string;
-};
+export { SearchResponse };
 
-// @public
-export type SearchResponseFile = {
-  url: string;
-  content(): Promise<Buffer>;
-};
+export { SearchResponseFile };
 
 // @public
 export class ServerTokenManager implements TokenManager {
@@ -755,13 +721,7 @@ export interface TokenManager {
   }>;
 }
 
-// @public
-export type UrlReader = {
-  read(url: string): Promise<Buffer>;
-  readUrl(url: string, options?: ReadUrlOptions): Promise<ReadUrlResponse>;
-  readTree(url: string, options?: ReadTreeOptions): Promise<ReadTreeResponse>;
-  search(url: string, options?: SearchOptions): Promise<SearchResponse>;
-};
+export { UrlReader };
 
 // @public
 export type UrlReaderPredicateTuple = {
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/package.json b/packages/backend-common/package.json
index 0af96cc41e..ca9b652fd0 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/package.json
+++ b/packages/backend-common/package.json
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
     "test:kubernetes": "backstage-cli package test -t KubernetesContainerRunner --no-watch"
   },
   "dependencies": {
+    "@backstage/backend-plugin-api": "workspace:^",
     "@backstage/cli-common": "workspace:^",
     "@backstage/config": "workspace:^",
     "@backstage/config-loader": "workspace:^",
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/AwsS3UrlReader.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/AwsS3UrlReader.ts
index b9fc58ef5c..dd7a3da3d4 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/AwsS3UrlReader.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/AwsS3UrlReader.ts
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ export function parseUrl(
 }
 
 /**
- * Implements a {@link UrlReader} for AWS S3 buckets.
+ * Implements a {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService} for AWS S3 buckets.
  *
  * @public
  */
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/AzureUrlReader.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/AzureUrlReader.ts
index 140496c181..08e3917b38 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/AzureUrlReader.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/AzureUrlReader.ts
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ import {
 import { ReadUrlResponseFactory } from './ReadUrlResponseFactory';
 
 /**
- * Implements a {@link UrlReader} for Azure repos.
+ * Implements a {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService} for Azure repos.
  *
  * @public
  */
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/BitbucketCloudUrlReader.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/BitbucketCloudUrlReader.ts
index 7bc4cd9c11..b83e012423 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/BitbucketCloudUrlReader.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/BitbucketCloudUrlReader.ts
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ import {
 import { ReadUrlResponseFactory } from './ReadUrlResponseFactory';
 
 /**
- * Implements a {@link UrlReader} for files from Bitbucket Cloud.
+ * Implements a {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService} for files from Bitbucket Cloud.
  *
  * @public
  */
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/BitbucketServerUrlReader.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/BitbucketServerUrlReader.ts
index bcab226b0f..a97c3b39bb 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/BitbucketServerUrlReader.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/BitbucketServerUrlReader.ts
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ import {
 import { ReadUrlResponseFactory } from './ReadUrlResponseFactory';
 
 /**
- * Implements a {@link UrlReader} for files from Bitbucket Server APIs.
+ * Implements a {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService} for files from Bitbucket Server APIs.
  *
  * @public
  */
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/BitbucketUrlReader.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/BitbucketUrlReader.ts
index 805697bf27..2b0325d644 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/BitbucketUrlReader.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/BitbucketUrlReader.ts
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ import {
 import { ReadUrlResponseFactory } from './ReadUrlResponseFactory';
 
 /**
- * Implements a {@link UrlReader} for files from Bitbucket v1 and v2 APIs, such
+ * Implements a {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService} for files from Bitbucket v1 and v2 APIs, such
  * as the one exposed by Bitbucket Cloud itself.
  *
  * @public
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/FetchUrlReader.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/FetchUrlReader.ts
index d38cc510b1..20b78d63c3 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/FetchUrlReader.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/FetchUrlReader.ts
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ const parsePortPredicate = (port: string | undefined) => {
 };
 
 /**
- * A {@link UrlReader} that does a plain fetch of the URL.
+ * A {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService} that does a plain fetch of the URL.
  *
  * @public
  */
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GerritUrlReader.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GerritUrlReader.ts
index 59b33bb2cb..5d86e5d9ac 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GerritUrlReader.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GerritUrlReader.ts
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ const createTemporaryDirectory = async (workDir: string): Promise<string> =>
   await fs.mkdtemp(joinPath(workDir, '/gerrit-clone-'));
 
 /**
- * Implements a {@link UrlReader} for files in Gerrit.
+ * Implements a {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService} for files in Gerrit.
  *
  * @remarks
  * To be able to link to Git contents for Gerrit providers in a user friendly
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GiteaUrlReader.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GiteaUrlReader.ts
index da6b791949..1471bab608 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GiteaUrlReader.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GiteaUrlReader.ts
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ import {
 import { Readable } from 'stream';
 
 /**
- * Implements a {@link UrlReader} for the Gitea v1 api.
+ * Implements a {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService} for the Gitea v1 api.
  *
  * @public
  */
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GithubUrlReader.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GithubUrlReader.ts
index 7abf1b2518..d91c35621d 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GithubUrlReader.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GithubUrlReader.ts
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ export type GhBlobResponse =
   RestEndpointMethodTypes['git']['getBlob']['response']['data'];
 
 /**
- * Implements a {@link UrlReader} for files through the GitHub v3 APIs, such as
+ * Implements a {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService} for files through the GitHub v3 APIs, such as
  * the one exposed by GitHub itself.
  *
  * @public
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GitlabUrlReader.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GitlabUrlReader.ts
index c80f1b566c..bebc7453d0 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GitlabUrlReader.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GitlabUrlReader.ts
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ import { trimEnd, trimStart } from 'lodash';
 import { ReadUrlResponseFactory } from './ReadUrlResponseFactory';
 
 /**
- * Implements a {@link UrlReader} for files on GitLab.
+ * Implements a {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService} for files on GitLab.
  *
  * @public
  */
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GoogleGcsUrlReader.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GoogleGcsUrlReader.ts
index 56b15a60e7..c9f5a58895 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GoogleGcsUrlReader.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/GoogleGcsUrlReader.ts
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ const parseURL = (
 };
 
 /**
- * Implements a {@link UrlReader} for files on Google GCS.
+ * Implements a {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService} for files on Google GCS.
  *
  * @public
  */
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/UrlReaderPredicateMux.test.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/UrlReaderPredicateMux.test.ts
index 38473557e0..89dac93fff 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/UrlReaderPredicateMux.test.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/UrlReaderPredicateMux.test.ts
@@ -70,7 +70,6 @@ describe('UrlReaderPredicateMux', () => {
     mux.register({
       predicate: url => url.hostname === 'foo',
       reader: {
-        read: jest.fn(),
         readUrl: jest.fn(),
         readTree: jest.fn(),
         search: jest.fn(),
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/UrlReaderPredicateMux.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/UrlReaderPredicateMux.ts
index d5d30605b2..a7c2e5f983 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/UrlReaderPredicateMux.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/UrlReaderPredicateMux.ts
@@ -45,18 +45,6 @@ export class UrlReaderPredicateMux implements UrlReader {
     this.readers.push(tuple);
   }
 
-  async read(url: string): Promise<Buffer> {
-    const parsed = new URL(url);
-
-    for (const { predicate, reader } of this.readers) {
-      if (predicate(parsed)) {
-        return reader.read(url);
-      }
-    }
-
-    throw new NotAllowedError(notAllowedMessage(url));
-  }
-
   async readUrl(
     url: string,
     options?: ReadUrlOptions,
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/UrlReaders.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/UrlReaders.ts
index 9fb403e7e9..a567eef412 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/UrlReaders.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/UrlReaders.ts
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ import { AwsS3UrlReader } from './AwsS3UrlReader';
 import { GiteaUrlReader } from './GiteaUrlReader';
 
 /**
- * Creation options for {@link UrlReaders}.
+ * Creation options for {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService}.
  *
  * @public
  */
@@ -46,13 +46,13 @@ export type UrlReadersOptions = {
 };
 
 /**
- * Helps construct {@link UrlReader}s.
+ * Helps construct {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService}s.
  *
  * @public
  */
 export class UrlReaders {
   /**
-   * Creates a custom {@link UrlReader} wrapper for your own set of factories.
+   * Creates a custom {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService} wrapper for your own set of factories.
    */
   static create(options: UrlReadersOptions): UrlReader {
     const { logger, config, factories } = options;
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ export class UrlReaders {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Creates a {@link UrlReader} wrapper that includes all the default factories
+   * Creates a {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService} wrapper that includes all the default factories
    * from this package.
    *
    * Any additional factories passed will be loaded before the default ones.
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/types.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/types.ts
index bce737f3c7..640b549532 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/reading/types.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/reading/types.ts
@@ -17,56 +17,38 @@
 import { Readable } from 'stream';
 import { Logger } from 'winston';
 import { Config } from '@backstage/config';
+import {
+  UrlReaderService,
+  ReadTreeResponse,
+} from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api';
+
+export type {
+  UrlReaderService as UrlReader,
+  ReadTreeOptions,
+  ReadTreeResponse,
+  ReadTreeResponseDirOptions,
+  ReadTreeResponseFile,
+  ReadUrlResponse,
+  ReadUrlOptions,
+  SearchOptions,
+  SearchResponse,
+  SearchResponseFile,
+} from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api';
 
 /**
- * A generic interface for fetching plain data from URLs.
- *
- * @public
- */
-export type UrlReader = {
-  /**
-   * Reads a single file and return its content.
-   * @deprecated use readUrl instead.
-   */
-  read(url: string): Promise<Buffer>;
-
-  /**
-   * Reads a single file and return its content.
-   *
-   * @remarks
-   *
-   * This is a replacement for the read method that supports options and
-   * complex responses.
-   *
-   * Use this as the read method will be removed in a future release.
-   */
-  readUrl(url: string, options?: ReadUrlOptions): Promise<ReadUrlResponse>;
-
-  /**
-   * Reads a full or partial file tree.
-   */
-  readTree(url: string, options?: ReadTreeOptions): Promise<ReadTreeResponse>;
-
-  /**
-   * Searches for a file in a tree using a glob pattern.
-   */
-  search(url: string, options?: SearchOptions): Promise<SearchResponse>;
-};
-
-/**
- * A predicate that decides whether a specific {@link UrlReader} can handle a
+ * A predicate that decides whether a specific {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService} can handle a
  * given URL.
  *
  * @public
  */
 export type UrlReaderPredicateTuple = {
   predicate: (url: URL) => boolean;
-  reader: UrlReader;
+  reader: UrlReaderService;
 };
 
 /**
  * A factory function that can read config to construct zero or more
- * {@link UrlReader}s along with a predicate for when it should be used.
+ * {@link @backstage/backend-plugin-api#UrlReaderService}s along with a predicate for when it should be used.
  *
  * @public
  */
@@ -76,72 +58,6 @@ export type ReaderFactory = (options: {
   treeResponseFactory: ReadTreeResponseFactory;
 }) => UrlReaderPredicateTuple[];
 
-/**
- * An options object for readUrl operations.
- *
- * @public
- */
-export type ReadUrlOptions = {
-  /**
-   * An ETag which can be provided to check whether a
-   * {@link UrlReader.readUrl} response has changed from a previous execution.
-   *
-   * @remarks
-   *
-   * In the {@link UrlReader.readUrl} response, an ETag is returned along with
-   * the data. The ETag is a unique identifier of the data, usually the commit
-   * SHA or ETag from the target.
-   *
-   * When an ETag is given in ReadUrlOptions, {@link UrlReader.readUrl} will
-   * first compare the ETag against the ETag of the target. If they match,
-   * {@link UrlReader.readUrl} will throw a
-   * {@link @backstage/errors#NotModifiedError} indicating that the response
-   * will not differ from the previous response which included this particular
-   * ETag. If they do not match, {@link UrlReader.readUrl} will return the rest
-   * of the response along with a new ETag.
-   */
-  etag?: string;
-
-  /**
-   * An abort signal to pass down to the underlying request.
-   *
-   * @remarks
-   *
-   * Not all reader implementations may take this field into account.
-   */
-  signal?: AbortSignal;
-};
-
-/**
- * A response object for {@link UrlReader.readUrl} operations.
- *
- * @public
- */
-export type ReadUrlResponse = {
-  /**
-   * Returns the data that was read from the remote URL.
-   */
-  buffer(): Promise<Buffer>;
-
-  /**
-   * Returns the data that was read from the remote URL as a Readable stream.
-   *
-   * @remarks
-   *
-   * This method will be required in a future release.
-   */
-  stream?(): Readable;
-
-  /**
-   * Etag returned by content provider.
-   *
-   * @remarks
-   *
-   * Can be used to compare and cache responses when doing subsequent calls.
-   */
-  etag?: string;
-};
-
 /**
  * An options object for {@link ReadUrlResponseFactory} factory methods.
  *
@@ -151,119 +67,6 @@ export type ReadUrlResponseFactoryFromStreamOptions = {
   etag?: string;
 };
 
-/**
- * An options object for {@link UrlReader.readTree} operations.
- *
- * @public
- */
-export type ReadTreeOptions = {
-  /**
-   * A filter that can be used to select which files should be included.
-   *
-   * @remarks
-   *
-   * The path passed to the filter function is the relative path from the URL
-   * that the file tree is fetched from, without any leading '/'.
-   *
-   * For example, given the URL https://github.com/my/repo/tree/master/my-dir, a file
-   * at https://github.com/my/repo/blob/master/my-dir/my-subdir/my-file.txt will
-   * be represented as my-subdir/my-file.txt
-   *
-   * If no filter is provided, all files are extracted.
-   */
-  filter?(path: string, info?: { size: number }): boolean;
-
-  /**
-   * An ETag which can be provided to check whether a
-   * {@link UrlReader.readTree} response has changed from a previous execution.
-   *
-   * @remarks
-   *
-   * In the {@link UrlReader.readTree} response, an ETag is returned along with
-   * the tree blob. The ETag is a unique identifier of the tree blob, usually
-   * the commit SHA or ETag from the target.
-   *
-   * When an ETag is given as a request option, {@link UrlReader.readTree} will
-   * first compare the ETag against the ETag on the target branch. If they
-   * match, {@link UrlReader.readTree} will throw a
-   * {@link @backstage/errors#NotModifiedError} indicating that the response
-   * will not differ from the previous response which included this particular
-   * ETag. If they do not match, {@link UrlReader.readTree} will return the
-   * rest of the response along with a new ETag.
-   */
-  etag?: string;
-
-  /**
-   * An abort signal to pass down to the underlying request.
-   *
-   * @remarks
-   *
-   * Not all reader implementations may take this field into account.
-   */
-  signal?: AbortSignal;
-};
-
-/**
- * Options that control {@link ReadTreeResponse.dir} execution.
- *
- * @public
- */
-export type ReadTreeResponseDirOptions = {
-  /**
-   * The directory to write files to.
-   *
-   * @remarks
-   *
-   * Defaults to the OS tmpdir, or `backend.workingDirectory` if set in config.
-   */
-  targetDir?: string;
-};
-
-/**
- * A response object for {@link UrlReader.readTree} operations.
- *
- * @public
- */
-export type ReadTreeResponse = {
-  /**
-   * Returns an array of all the files inside the tree, and corresponding
-   * functions to read their content.
-   */
-  files(): Promise<ReadTreeResponseFile[]>;
-
-  /**
-   * Returns the tree contents as a binary archive, using a stream.
-   */
-  archive(): Promise<NodeJS.ReadableStream>;
-
-  /**
-   * Extracts the tree response into a directory and returns the path of the
-   * directory.
-   *
-   * **NOTE**: It is the responsibility of the caller to remove the directory after use.
-   */
-  dir(options?: ReadTreeResponseDirOptions): Promise<string>;
-
-  /**
-   * Etag returned by content provider.
-   *
-   * @remarks
-   *
-   * Can be used to compare and cache responses when doing subsequent calls.
-   */
-  etag: string;
-};
-
-/**
- * Represents a single file in a {@link UrlReader.readTree} response.
- *
- * @public
- */
-export type ReadTreeResponseFile = {
-  path: string;
-  content(): Promise<Buffer>;
-};
-
 /**
  * Options that control execution of {@link ReadTreeResponseFactory} methods.
  *
@@ -315,66 +118,3 @@ export interface ReadTreeResponseFactory {
     options: FromReadableArrayOptions,
   ): Promise<ReadTreeResponse>;
 }
-
-/**
- * An options object for search operations.
- *
- * @public
- */
-export type SearchOptions = {
-  /**
-   * An etag can be provided to check whether the search response has changed from a previous execution.
-   *
-   * In the search() response, an etag is returned along with the files. The etag is a unique identifier
-   * of the current tree, usually the commit SHA or etag from the target.
-   *
-   * When an etag is given in SearchOptions, search will first compare the etag against the etag
-   * on the target branch. If they match, search will throw a NotModifiedError indicating that the search
-   * response will not differ from the previous response which included this particular etag. If they mismatch,
-   * search will return the rest of SearchResponse along with a new etag.
-   */
-  etag?: string;
-
-  /**
-   * An abort signal to pass down to the underlying request.
-   *
-   * @remarks
-   *
-   * Not all reader implementations may take this field into account.
-   */
-  signal?: AbortSignal;
-};
-
-/**
- * The output of a search operation.
- *
- * @public
- */
-export type SearchResponse = {
-  /**
-   * The files that matched the search query.
-   */
-  files: SearchResponseFile[];
-
-  /**
-   * A unique identifier of the current remote tree, usually the commit SHA or etag from the target.
-   */
-  etag: string;
-};
-
-/**
- * Represents a single file in a search response.
- *
- * @public
- */
-export type SearchResponseFile = {
-  /**
-   * The full URL to the file.
-   */
-  url: string;
-
-  /**
-   * The binary contents of the file.
-   */
-  content(): Promise<Buffer>;
-};
diff --git a/packages/backend-plugin-api/api-report.md b/packages/backend-plugin-api/api-report.md
index 545728b386..58f1ee2fa6 100644
--- a/packages/backend-plugin-api/api-report.md
+++ b/packages/backend-plugin-api/api-report.md
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 > Do not edit this file. It is a report generated by [API Extractor](https://api-extractor.com/).
 
 ```ts
+/// <reference types="node" />
+
 import { Config } from '@backstage/config';
 import { Handler } from 'express';
 import { Logger } from 'winston';
@@ -12,9 +14,9 @@ import { PluginCacheManager } from '@backstage/backend-common';
 import { PluginDatabaseManager } from '@backstage/backend-common';
 import { PluginEndpointDiscovery } from '@backstage/backend-common';
 import { PluginTaskScheduler } from '@backstage/backend-tasks';
+import { Readable } from 'stream';
 import { TokenManager } from '@backstage/backend-common';
 import { TransportStreamOptions } from 'winston-transport';
-import { UrlReader } from '@backstage/backend-common';
 
 // @public (undocumented)
 export interface BackendFeature {
@@ -245,6 +247,50 @@ export interface PluginMetadataService {
 // @public (undocumented)
 const pluginMetadataServiceRef: ServiceRef<PluginMetadataService, 'plugin'>;
 
+// @public
+export type ReadTreeOptions = {
+  filter?(
+    path: string,
+    info?: {
+      size: number;
+    },
+  ): boolean;
+  etag?: string;
+  signal?: AbortSignal;
+};
+
+// @public
+export type ReadTreeResponse = {
+  files(): Promise<ReadTreeResponseFile[]>;
+  archive(): Promise<NodeJS.ReadableStream>;
+  dir(options?: ReadTreeResponseDirOptions): Promise<string>;
+  etag: string;
+};
+
+// @public
+export type ReadTreeResponseDirOptions = {
+  targetDir?: string;
+};
+
+// @public
+export type ReadTreeResponseFile = {
+  path: string;
+  content(): Promise<Buffer>;
+};
+
+// @public
+export type ReadUrlOptions = {
+  etag?: string;
+  signal?: AbortSignal;
+};
+
+// @public
+export type ReadUrlResponse = {
+  buffer(): Promise<Buffer>;
+  stream?(): Readable;
+  etag?: string;
+};
+
 // @public (undocumented)
 export type RootLoggerService = LoggerService;
 
@@ -257,6 +303,24 @@ export type SchedulerService = PluginTaskScheduler;
 // @public (undocumented)
 const schedulerServiceRef: ServiceRef<PluginTaskScheduler, 'plugin'>;
 
+// @public
+export type SearchOptions = {
+  etag?: string;
+  signal?: AbortSignal;
+};
+
+// @public
+export type SearchResponse = {
+  files: SearchResponseFile[];
+  etag: string;
+};
+
+// @public
+export type SearchResponseFile = {
+  url: string;
+  content(): Promise<Buffer>;
+};
+
 // @public (undocumented)
 export type ServiceFactory<TService = unknown> =
   | {
@@ -307,9 +371,13 @@ export type TypesToServiceRef<T> = {
   [key in keyof T]: ServiceRef<T[key]>;
 };
 
-// @public (undocumented)
-export type UrlReaderService = UrlReader;
+// @public
+export type UrlReaderService = {
+  readUrl(url: string, options?: ReadUrlOptions): Promise<ReadUrlResponse>;
+  readTree(url: string, options?: ReadTreeOptions): Promise<ReadTreeResponse>;
+  search(url: string, options?: SearchOptions): Promise<SearchResponse>;
+};
 
 // @public (undocumented)
-const urlReaderServiceRef: ServiceRef<UrlReader, 'plugin'>;
+const urlReaderServiceRef: ServiceRef<UrlReaderService, 'plugin'>;
 ```
diff --git a/packages/backend-plugin-api/src/services/definitions/index.ts b/packages/backend-plugin-api/src/services/definitions/index.ts
index 3cf2ab4c77..31d0c8542f 100644
--- a/packages/backend-plugin-api/src/services/definitions/index.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-plugin-api/src/services/definitions/index.ts
@@ -32,4 +32,15 @@ export type { PluginMetadataService } from './pluginMetadataServiceRef';
 export type { RootLoggerService } from './rootLoggerServiceRef';
 export type { SchedulerService } from './schedulerServiceRef';
 export type { TokenManagerService } from './tokenManagerServiceRef';
-export type { UrlReaderService } from './urlReaderServiceRef';
+export type {
+  ReadTreeOptions,
+  ReadTreeResponse,
+  ReadTreeResponseDirOptions,
+  ReadTreeResponseFile,
+  ReadUrlResponse,
+  ReadUrlOptions,
+  SearchOptions,
+  SearchResponse,
+  SearchResponseFile,
+  UrlReaderService,
+} from './urlReaderServiceRef';
diff --git a/packages/backend-plugin-api/src/services/definitions/urlReaderServiceRef.ts b/packages/backend-plugin-api/src/services/definitions/urlReaderServiceRef.ts
index 4fc3680763..ada0660885 100644
--- a/packages/backend-plugin-api/src/services/definitions/urlReaderServiceRef.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-plugin-api/src/services/definitions/urlReaderServiceRef.ts
@@ -15,10 +15,278 @@
  */
 
 import { createServiceRef } from '../system/types';
-import { UrlReader } from '@backstage/backend-common';
+import { Readable } from 'stream';
 
-/** @public */
-export type UrlReaderService = UrlReader;
+/**
+ * A generic interface for fetching plain data from URLs.
+ *
+ * @public
+ */
+export type UrlReaderService = {
+  /**
+   * Reads a single file and return its content.
+   *
+   * @remarks
+   *
+   * This is a replacement for the read method that supports options and
+   * complex responses.
+   *
+   * Use this as the read method will be removed in a future release.
+   */
+  readUrl(url: string, options?: ReadUrlOptions): Promise<ReadUrlResponse>;
+
+  /**
+   * Reads a full or partial file tree.
+   */
+  readTree(url: string, options?: ReadTreeOptions): Promise<ReadTreeResponse>;
+
+  /**
+   * Searches for a file in a tree using a glob pattern.
+   */
+  search(url: string, options?: SearchOptions): Promise<SearchResponse>;
+};
+
+/**
+ * An options object for readUrl operations.
+ *
+ * @public
+ */
+export type ReadUrlOptions = {
+  /**
+   * An ETag which can be provided to check whether a
+   * {@link UrlReaderService.readUrl} response has changed from a previous execution.
+   *
+   * @remarks
+   *
+   * In the {@link UrlReaderService.readUrl} response, an ETag is returned along with
+   * the data. The ETag is a unique identifier of the data, usually the commit
+   * SHA or ETag from the target.
+   *
+   * When an ETag is given in ReadUrlOptions, {@link UrlReaderService.readUrl} will
+   * first compare the ETag against the ETag of the target. If they match,
+   * {@link UrlReaderService.readUrl} will throw a
+   * {@link @backstage/errors#NotModifiedError} indicating that the response
+   * will not differ from the previous response which included this particular
+   * ETag. If they do not match, {@link UrlReaderService.readUrl} will return the rest
+   * of the response along with a new ETag.
+   */
+  etag?: string;
+
+  /**
+   * An abort signal to pass down to the underlying request.
+   *
+   * @remarks
+   *
+   * Not all reader implementations may take this field into account.
+   */
+  signal?: AbortSignal;
+};
+
+/**
+ * A response object for {@link UrlReaderService.readUrl} operations.
+ *
+ * @public
+ */
+export type ReadUrlResponse = {
+  /**
+   * Returns the data that was read from the remote URL.
+   */
+  buffer(): Promise<Buffer>;
+
+  /**
+   * Returns the data that was read from the remote URL as a Readable stream.
+   *
+   * @remarks
+   *
+   * This method will be required in a future release.
+   */
+  stream?(): Readable;
+
+  /**
+   * Etag returned by content provider.
+   *
+   * @remarks
+   *
+   * Can be used to compare and cache responses when doing subsequent calls.
+   */
+  etag?: string;
+};
+
+/**
+ * An options object for {@link UrlReaderService.readTree} operations.
+ *
+ * @public
+ */
+export type ReadTreeOptions = {
+  /**
+   * A filter that can be used to select which files should be included.
+   *
+   * @remarks
+   *
+   * The path passed to the filter function is the relative path from the URL
+   * that the file tree is fetched from, without any leading '/'.
+   *
+   * For example, given the URL https://github.com/my/repo/tree/master/my-dir, a file
+   * at https://github.com/my/repo/blob/master/my-dir/my-subdir/my-file.txt will
+   * be represented as my-subdir/my-file.txt
+   *
+   * If no filter is provided, all files are extracted.
+   */
+  filter?(path: string, info?: { size: number }): boolean;
+
+  /**
+   * An ETag which can be provided to check whether a
+   * {@link UrlReaderService.readTree} response has changed from a previous execution.
+   *
+   * @remarks
+   *
+   * In the {@link UrlReaderService.readTree} response, an ETag is returned along with
+   * the tree blob. The ETag is a unique identifier of the tree blob, usually
+   * the commit SHA or ETag from the target.
+   *
+   * When an ETag is given as a request option, {@link UrlReaderService.readTree} will
+   * first compare the ETag against the ETag on the target branch. If they
+   * match, {@link UrlReaderService.readTree} will throw a
+   * {@link @backstage/errors#NotModifiedError} indicating that the response
+   * will not differ from the previous response which included this particular
+   * ETag. If they do not match, {@link UrlReaderService.readTree} will return the
+   * rest of the response along with a new ETag.
+   */
+  etag?: string;
+
+  /**
+   * An abort signal to pass down to the underlying request.
+   *
+   * @remarks
+   *
+   * Not all reader implementations may take this field into account.
+   */
+  signal?: AbortSignal;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Options that control {@link ReadTreeResponse.dir} execution.
+ *
+ * @public
+ */
+export type ReadTreeResponseDirOptions = {
+  /**
+   * The directory to write files to.
+   *
+   * @remarks
+   *
+   * Defaults to the OS tmpdir, or `backend.workingDirectory` if set in config.
+   */
+  targetDir?: string;
+};
+
+/**
+ * A response object for {@link UrlReaderService.readTree} operations.
+ *
+ * @public
+ */
+export type ReadTreeResponse = {
+  /**
+   * Returns an array of all the files inside the tree, and corresponding
+   * functions to read their content.
+   */
+  files(): Promise<ReadTreeResponseFile[]>;
+
+  /**
+   * Returns the tree contents as a binary archive, using a stream.
+   */
+  archive(): Promise<NodeJS.ReadableStream>;
+
+  /**
+   * Extracts the tree response into a directory and returns the path of the
+   * directory.
+   *
+   * **NOTE**: It is the responsibility of the caller to remove the directory after use.
+   */
+  dir(options?: ReadTreeResponseDirOptions): Promise<string>;
+
+  /**
+   * Etag returned by content provider.
+   *
+   * @remarks
+   *
+   * Can be used to compare and cache responses when doing subsequent calls.
+   */
+  etag: string;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Represents a single file in a {@link UrlReaderService.readTree} response.
+ *
+ * @public
+ */
+export type ReadTreeResponseFile = {
+  path: string;
+  content(): Promise<Buffer>;
+};
+
+/**
+ * An options object for search operations.
+ *
+ * @public
+ */
+export type SearchOptions = {
+  /**
+   * An etag can be provided to check whether the search response has changed from a previous execution.
+   *
+   * In the search() response, an etag is returned along with the files. The etag is a unique identifier
+   * of the current tree, usually the commit SHA or etag from the target.
+   *
+   * When an etag is given in SearchOptions, search will first compare the etag against the etag
+   * on the target branch. If they match, search will throw a NotModifiedError indicating that the search
+   * response will not differ from the previous response which included this particular etag. If they mismatch,
+   * search will return the rest of SearchResponse along with a new etag.
+   */
+  etag?: string;
+
+  /**
+   * An abort signal to pass down to the underlying request.
+   *
+   * @remarks
+   *
+   * Not all reader implementations may take this field into account.
+   */
+  signal?: AbortSignal;
+};
+
+/**
+ * The output of a search operation.
+ *
+ * @public
+ */
+export type SearchResponse = {
+  /**
+   * The files that matched the search query.
+   */
+  files: SearchResponseFile[];
+
+  /**
+   * A unique identifier of the current remote tree, usually the commit SHA or etag from the target.
+   */
+  etag: string;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Represents a single file in a search response.
+ *
+ * @public
+ */
+export type SearchResponseFile = {
+  /**
+   * The full URL to the file.
+   */
+  url: string;
+
+  /**
+   * The binary contents of the file.
+   */
+  content(): Promise<Buffer>;
+};
 
 /**
  * @public
diff --git a/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/utils/azure-devops-utils.test.ts b/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/utils/azure-devops-utils.test.ts
index 74932c9653..4b912a8340 100644
--- a/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/utils/azure-devops-utils.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/utils/azure-devops-utils.test.ts
@@ -255,7 +255,6 @@ describe('replaceReadme', () => {
         }),
       readTree: jest.fn(),
       search: jest.fn(),
-      read: jest.fn(),
     };
 
     const result = await replaceReadme(
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend-module-openapi/src/OpenApiRefProcessor.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend-module-openapi/src/OpenApiRefProcessor.ts
index 6298aea77d..9dcadad61d 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend-module-openapi/src/OpenApiRefProcessor.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend-module-openapi/src/OpenApiRefProcessor.ts
@@ -84,10 +84,14 @@ export class OpenApiRefProcessor implements CatalogProcessor {
 
     this.logger.debug(`Bundling OpenAPI specification from ${location.target}`);
     try {
+      const read = async (url: string) => {
+        const { buffer } = await this.reader.readUrl(url);
+        return await buffer();
+      };
       const bundledSpec = await bundleFileWithRefs(
         definition.toString(),
         location.target,
-        this.reader.read,
+        read,
         resolveUrl,
       );
 
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/modules/core/PlaceholderProcessor.test.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/modules/core/PlaceholderProcessor.test.ts
index 903ac1ac6a..352ebf5df9 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/modules/core/PlaceholderProcessor.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/modules/core/PlaceholderProcessor.test.ts
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ const integrations = ScmIntegrations.fromConfig(new ConfigReader({}));
 
 describe('PlaceholderProcessor', () => {
   const reader: jest.Mocked<UrlReader> = {
-    read: jest.fn(),
     readTree: jest.fn(),
     search: jest.fn(),
     readUrl: jest.fn(),
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/modules/core/UrlReaderProcessor.test.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/modules/core/UrlReaderProcessor.test.ts
index 14c5710afc..c9575ce5cd 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/modules/core/UrlReaderProcessor.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/modules/core/UrlReaderProcessor.test.ts
@@ -194,7 +194,6 @@ describe('UrlReaderProcessor', () => {
     const logger = getVoidLogger();
 
     const reader: jest.Mocked<UrlReader> = {
-      read: jest.fn(),
       readUrl: jest.fn(),
       readTree: jest.fn(),
       search: jest.fn().mockImplementation(async () => []),
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-cookiecutter/src/actions/fetch/cookiecutter.test.ts b/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-cookiecutter/src/actions/fetch/cookiecutter.test.ts
index bfa4aa0507..15e5d25183 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-cookiecutter/src/actions/fetch/cookiecutter.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-cookiecutter/src/actions/fetch/cookiecutter.test.ts
@@ -75,7 +75,6 @@ describe('fetch:cookiecutter', () => {
 
   const mockReader: UrlReader = {
     readUrl: jest.fn(),
-    read: jest.fn(),
     readTree: jest.fn(),
     search: jest.fn(),
   };
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-rails/src/actions/fetch/rails/index.test.ts b/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-rails/src/actions/fetch/rails/index.test.ts
index 98ac3a403f..56f85d002e 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-rails/src/actions/fetch/rails/index.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-rails/src/actions/fetch/rails/index.test.ts
@@ -74,7 +74,6 @@ describe('fetch:rails', () => {
   };
 
   const mockReader: UrlReader = {
-    read: jest.fn(),
     readUrl: jest.fn(),
     readTree: jest.fn(),
     search: jest.fn(),
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/fetch/helpers.test.ts b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/fetch/helpers.test.ts
index 50ec94e099..86d5f17803 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/fetch/helpers.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/fetch/helpers.test.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ describe('fetchContent helper', () => {
 
   const readTree = jest.fn();
   const reader: UrlReader = {
-    read: jest.fn(),
     readUrl: jest.fn(),
     readTree,
     search: jest.fn(),
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/fetch/plain.test.ts b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/fetch/plain.test.ts
index 1595578666..0469ffec06 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/fetch/plain.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/fetch/plain.test.ts
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ describe('fetch:plain', () => {
   );
   const reader: UrlReader = {
     readUrl: jest.fn(),
-    read: jest.fn(),
     readTree: jest.fn(),
     search: jest.fn(),
   };
diff --git a/plugins/search-backend-node/src/collators/NewlineDelimitedJsonCollatorFactory.test.ts b/plugins/search-backend-node/src/collators/NewlineDelimitedJsonCollatorFactory.test.ts
index c08db8f28e..addcb87497 100644
--- a/plugins/search-backend-node/src/collators/NewlineDelimitedJsonCollatorFactory.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/search-backend-node/src/collators/NewlineDelimitedJsonCollatorFactory.test.ts
@@ -53,7 +53,6 @@ describe('DefaultCatalogCollatorFactory', () => {
       readable._read = () => {};
       reader = {
         search: jest.fn(),
-        read: jest.fn(),
         readTree: jest.fn(),
         readUrl: jest.fn(),
       };
diff --git a/plugins/techdocs-backend/src/service/standaloneServer.ts b/plugins/techdocs-backend/src/service/standaloneServer.ts
index 5751a460bf..7e7e8b24f8 100644
--- a/plugins/techdocs-backend/src/service/standaloneServer.ts
+++ b/plugins/techdocs-backend/src/service/standaloneServer.ts
@@ -53,7 +53,6 @@ export async function startStandaloneServer(
   });
   const discovery = SingleHostDiscovery.fromConfig(config);
   const mockUrlReader: jest.Mocked<UrlReader> = {
-    read: jest.fn(),
     readUrl: jest.fn(),
     readTree: jest.fn(),
     search: jest.fn(),
diff --git a/plugins/techdocs-node/src/stages/prepare/dir.test.ts b/plugins/techdocs-node/src/stages/prepare/dir.test.ts
index ddefb40f03..164cfde687 100644
--- a/plugins/techdocs-node/src/stages/prepare/dir.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/techdocs-node/src/stages/prepare/dir.test.ts
@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@ const createMockEntity = (annotations: {}) => {
 
 const mockConfig = new ConfigReader({});
 const mockUrlReader: jest.Mocked<UrlReader> = {
-  read: jest.fn(),
   readUrl: jest.fn(),
   readTree: jest.fn(),
   search: jest.fn(),
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 6f4f0b06b4..f32ce5d727 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -3392,6 +3392,7 @@ __metadata:
   version: 0.0.0-use.local
   resolution: "@backstage/backend-common@workspace:packages/backend-common"
   dependencies:
+    "@backstage/backend-plugin-api": "workspace:^"
     "@backstage/backend-test-utils": "workspace:^"
     "@backstage/cli": "workspace:^"
     "@backstage/cli-common": "workspace:^"