diff --git a/packages/backend-common/package.json b/packages/backend-common/package.json
index 18131236df..b8a4e372ab 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/package.json
+++ b/packages/backend-common/package.json
@@ -29,7 +29,9 @@
     "clean": "backstage-cli clean"
   },
   "dependencies": {
+    "@backstage/cli-common": "^0.1.1-alpha.16",
     "@backstage/config": "^0.1.1-alpha.16",
+    "@backstage/config-loader": "^0.1.1-alpha.16",
     "@types/cors": "^2.8.6",
     "@types/express": "^4.17.6",
     "compression": "^1.7.4",
diff --git a/packages/config-loader/src/lib/paths.test.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/config.ts
similarity index 63%
rename from packages/config-loader/src/lib/paths.test.ts
rename to packages/backend-common/src/config.ts
index dd5ed14748..8391ed4104 100644
--- a/packages/config-loader/src/lib/paths.test.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/config.ts
@@ -14,11 +14,17 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-import { findRootPath } from './paths';
+import { findPaths } from '@backstage/cli-common';
+import { loadConfig } from '@backstage/config-loader';
 
-describe('findRootPath', () => {
-  it('should find root path', () => {
-    const rootPath = findRootPath(process.cwd());
-    expect(typeof rootPath).toBe('string');
+/**
+ * Load configuration for a Backend
+ */
+export async function loadBackendConfig() {
+  const paths = findPaths(__dirname);
+  const configs = await loadConfig({
+    rootPath: paths.targetRoot,
+    shouldReadSecrets: true,
   });
-});
+  return configs;
+}
diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/index.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/index.ts
index 0e4e5b2c6b..a3f57ed9df 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/index.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
+export * from './config';
 export * from './errors';
 export * from './logging';
 export * from './middleware';
diff --git a/packages/backend/package.json b/packages/backend/package.json
index 7ca11fc636..1de51948d8 100644
--- a/packages/backend/package.json
+++ b/packages/backend/package.json
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@
     "@backstage/backend-common": "^0.1.1-alpha.16",
     "@backstage/catalog-model": "^0.1.1-alpha.16",
     "@backstage/config": "^0.1.1-alpha.16",
-    "@backstage/config-loader": "^0.1.1-alpha.16",
     "@backstage/plugin-auth-backend": "^0.1.1-alpha.16",
     "@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend": "^0.1.1-alpha.16",
     "@backstage/plugin-identity-backend": "^0.1.1-alpha.16",
diff --git a/packages/backend/src/index.ts b/packages/backend/src/index.ts
index 3fccfe9c59..261a4d2894 100644
--- a/packages/backend/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/backend/src/index.ts
@@ -24,11 +24,11 @@
 
 import {
   createServiceBuilder,
+  loadBackendConfig,
   getRootLogger,
   useHotMemoize,
 } from '@backstage/backend-common';
 import { ConfigReader, AppConfig } from '@backstage/config';
-import { loadConfig } from '@backstage/config-loader';
 import knex, { PgConnectionConfig } from 'knex';
 import healthcheck from './plugins/healthcheck';
 import auth from './plugins/auth';
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ function makeCreateEnv(loadedConfigs: AppConfig[]) {
 }
 
 async function main() {
-  const configs = await loadConfig({ shouldReadSecrets: true });
+  const configs = await loadBackendConfig();
   const configReader = ConfigReader.fromConfigs(configs);
   const createEnv = makeCreateEnv(configs);
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/app/build.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/app/build.ts
index 4ecf54f532..b3ec5ad2bf 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/app/build.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/app/build.ts
@@ -17,10 +17,11 @@
 import { Command } from 'commander';
 import { loadConfig } from '@backstage/config-loader';
 import { ConfigReader } from '@backstage/config';
+import { paths } from '../../lib/paths';
 import { buildBundle } from '../../lib/bundler';
 
 export default async (cmd: Command) => {
-  const appConfigs = await loadConfig();
+  const appConfigs = await loadConfig({ rootPath: paths.targetRoot });
   await buildBundle({
     entry: 'src/index',
     statsJsonEnabled: cmd.stats,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/app/serve.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/app/serve.ts
index 023a3a4663..732370ef3b 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/app/serve.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/app/serve.ts
@@ -17,10 +17,11 @@
 import { Command } from 'commander';
 import { loadConfig } from '@backstage/config-loader';
 import { ConfigReader } from '@backstage/config';
+import { paths } from '../../lib/paths';
 import { serveBundle } from '../../lib/bundler';
 
 export default async (cmd: Command) => {
-  const appConfigs = await loadConfig();
+  const appConfigs = await loadConfig({ rootPath: paths.targetRoot });
   const waitForExit = await serveBundle({
     entry: 'src/index',
     checksEnabled: cmd.check,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/backend/dev.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/backend/dev.ts
index f04f904e09..03d9464722 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/backend/dev.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/backend/dev.ts
@@ -17,10 +17,11 @@
 import { ConfigReader } from '@backstage/config';
 import { loadConfig } from '@backstage/config-loader';
 import { Command } from 'commander';
+import { paths } from '../../lib/paths';
 import { serveBackend } from '../../lib/bundler/backend';
 
 export default async (cmd: Command) => {
-  const appConfigs = await loadConfig();
+  const appConfigs = await loadConfig({ rootPath: paths.targetRoot });
   const waitForExit = await serveBackend({
     entry: 'src/index',
     checksEnabled: cmd.check,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/plugin/export.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/plugin/export.ts
index b6db0d8ddd..be6df707f3 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/plugin/export.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/plugin/export.ts
@@ -17,10 +17,11 @@
 import { Command } from 'commander';
 import { loadConfig } from '@backstage/config-loader';
 import { ConfigReader } from '@backstage/config';
+import { paths } from '../../lib/paths';
 import { buildBundle } from '../../lib/bundler';
 
 export default async (cmd: Command) => {
-  const appConfigs = await loadConfig();
+  const appConfigs = await loadConfig({ rootPath: paths.targetRoot });
   await buildBundle({
     entry: 'dev/index',
     statsJsonEnabled: cmd.stats,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/plugin/serve.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/plugin/serve.ts
index 57b939fa63..5ee4b70a1e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/plugin/serve.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/plugin/serve.ts
@@ -17,10 +17,11 @@
 import { Command } from 'commander';
 import { loadConfig } from '@backstage/config-loader';
 import { ConfigReader } from '@backstage/config';
+import { paths } from '../../lib/paths';
 import { serveBundle } from '../../lib/bundler';
 
 export default async (cmd: Command) => {
-  const appConfigs = await loadConfig();
+  const appConfigs = await loadConfig({ rootPath: paths.targetRoot });
   const waitForExit = await serveBundle({
     entry: 'dev/index',
     checksEnabled: cmd.check,
diff --git a/packages/config-loader/src/lib/paths.ts b/packages/config-loader/src/lib/paths.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index d0e7e96e36..0000000000
--- a/packages/config-loader/src/lib/paths.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,57 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * 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 { dirname, resolve as resolvePath } from 'path';
-
-/**
- * Looks for a package.json that has name: "root" to identify the root of the monorepo
- *
- * This is a copy of the same function in the CLI
- */
-export function findRootPath(topPath: string): string {
-  let path = topPath;
-
-  // Some sanity check to avoid infinite loop
-  for (let i = 0; i < 1000; i++) {
-    const packagePath = resolvePath(path, 'package.json');
-    const exists = fs.pathExistsSync(packagePath);
-    if (exists) {
-      try {
-        const data = fs.readJsonSync(packagePath);
-        if (data.name === 'root' || data.name.includes('backstage-e2e')) {
-          return path;
-        }
-      } catch (error) {
-        throw new Error(
-          `Failed to parse package.json file while searching for root, ${error}`,
-        );
-      }
-    }
-
-    const newPath = dirname(path);
-    if (newPath === path) {
-      throw new Error(
-        `No package.json with name "root" found as a parent of ${topPath}`,
-      );
-    }
-    path = newPath;
-  }
-
-  throw new Error(
-    `Iteration limit reached when searching for root package.json at ${topPath}`,
-  );
-}
diff --git a/packages/config-loader/src/lib/resolver.ts b/packages/config-loader/src/lib/resolver.ts
index 4a06f3ebca..a3921f07aa 100644
--- a/packages/config-loader/src/lib/resolver.ts
+++ b/packages/config-loader/src/lib/resolver.ts
@@ -14,13 +14,11 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-import fs from 'fs-extra';
 import { resolve as resolvePath } from 'path';
-import { findRootPath } from './paths';
 
 type ResolveOptions = {
-  // Same as configPath in LoadConfigOptions
-  configPath?: string;
+  // Root path for search for app-config.yaml
+  rootPath: string;
 };
 
 /**
@@ -31,13 +29,7 @@ export async function resolveStaticConfig(
 ): Promise<string[]> {
   // TODO: We'll want this to be a bit more elaborate, probably adding configs for
   //       specific env, and maybe local config for plugins.
-  let { configPath } = options;
-  if (!configPath) {
-    configPath = resolvePath(
-      findRootPath(fs.realpathSync(process.cwd())),
-      'app-config.yaml',
-    );
-  }
+  const configPath = resolvePath(options.rootPath, 'app-config.yaml');
 
   return [configPath];
 }
diff --git a/packages/config-loader/src/loader.ts b/packages/config-loader/src/loader.ts
index 1b6c8f34da..ce0e09e815 100644
--- a/packages/config-loader/src/loader.ts
+++ b/packages/config-loader/src/loader.ts
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ import {
 } from './lib';
 
 export type LoadConfigOptions = {
-  // Config path, defaults to app-config.yaml in project root
-  configPath?: string;
+  // Root path for search for app-config.yaml
+  rootPath: string;
 
   // Whether to read secrets or omit them, defaults to false.
   shouldReadSecrets?: boolean;
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ class Context {
 }
 
 export async function loadConfig(
-  options: LoadConfigOptions = {},
+  options: LoadConfigOptions,
 ): Promise<AppConfig[]> {
   const configs = [];
 
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 93c076a967..a978349b02 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
@@ -19,8 +19,7 @@
   "dependencies": {
     "@backstage/backend-common": "^{{version}}",
     "@backstage/catalog-model": "^{{version}}",
-    "@backstage/config": "^0.1.1-alpha.13",
-    "@backstage/config-loader": "^0.1.1-alpha.13",
+    "@backstage/config": "^{{version}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-auth-backend": "^{{version}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend": "^{{version}}",
     "@backstage/plugin-identity-backend": "^{{version}}",
@@ -42,7 +41,7 @@
     "winston": "^3.2.1"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
-    "@backstage/cli": "^0.1.1-alpha.15",
+    "@backstage/cli": "^{{version}}",
     "@types/dockerode": "^2.5.32",
     "@types/express": "^4.17.6",
     "@types/express-serve-static-core": "^4.17.5",
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/index.ts.hbs b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/index.ts.hbs
index 591fa1a28f..ec050970d7 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/index.ts.hbs
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/src/index.ts.hbs
@@ -24,11 +24,11 @@
 
 import {
   createServiceBuilder,
+  loadBackendConfig,
   getRootLogger,
   useHotMemoize,
 } from '@backstage/backend-common';
 import { ConfigReader, AppConfig } from '@backstage/config';
-import { loadConfig } from '@backstage/config-loader';
 {{#if dbTypePG}}
 import knex, { PgConnectionConfig } from 'knex';
 {{/if}}
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ function makeCreateEnv(loadedConfigs: AppConfig[]) {
 }
 
 async function main() {
-  const configs = await loadConfig();
+  const configs = await loadBackendConfig();
   const configReader = ConfigReader.fromConfigs(configs);
   const createEnv = makeCreateEnv(configs);
 
diff --git a/plugins/auth-backend/package.json b/plugins/auth-backend/package.json
index b16c1e5a4f..a0a863618f 100644
--- a/plugins/auth-backend/package.json
+++ b/plugins/auth-backend/package.json
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@
   "dependencies": {
     "@backstage/backend-common": "^0.1.1-alpha.16",
     "@backstage/config": "^0.1.1-alpha.16",
-    "@backstage/config-loader": "^0.1.1-alpha.16",
     "@types/express": "^4.17.6",
     "body-parser": "^1.19.0",
     "compression": "^1.7.4",
diff --git a/plugins/auth-backend/src/service/standaloneServer.ts b/plugins/auth-backend/src/service/standaloneServer.ts
index d2372a7e91..dc91c92631 100644
--- a/plugins/auth-backend/src/service/standaloneServer.ts
+++ b/plugins/auth-backend/src/service/standaloneServer.ts
@@ -18,9 +18,12 @@ import Knex from 'knex';
 import { Server } from 'http';
 import { Logger } from 'winston';
 import { ConfigReader } from '@backstage/config';
-import { loadConfig } from '@backstage/config-loader';
 import { createRouter } from './router';
-import { createServiceBuilder, useHotMemoize } from '@backstage/backend-common';
+import {
+  createServiceBuilder,
+  useHotMemoize,
+  loadBackendConfig,
+} from '@backstage/backend-common';
 
 export interface ServerOptions {
   logger: Logger;
@@ -30,7 +33,7 @@ export async function startStandaloneServer(
   options: ServerOptions,
 ): Promise<Server> {
   const logger = options.logger.child({ service: 'auth-backend' });
-  const config = ConfigReader.fromConfigs(await loadConfig());
+  const config = ConfigReader.fromConfigs(await loadBackendConfig());
 
   const database = useHotMemoize(module, () => {
     const knex = Knex({
diff --git a/plugins/proxy-backend/package.json b/plugins/proxy-backend/package.json
index e80bf0e00f..f65e3a7298 100644
--- a/plugins/proxy-backend/package.json
+++ b/plugins/proxy-backend/package.json
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@
   "dependencies": {
     "@backstage/backend-common": "^0.1.1-alpha.16",
     "@backstage/config": "^0.1.1-alpha.16",
-    "@backstage/config-loader": "^0.1.1-alpha.16",
     "@types/express": "^4.17.6",
     "express": "^4.17.1",
     "express-promise-router": "^3.0.3",
diff --git a/plugins/proxy-backend/src/service/router.test.ts b/plugins/proxy-backend/src/service/router.test.ts
index 699ed9b99d..10690dfbdd 100644
--- a/plugins/proxy-backend/src/service/router.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/proxy-backend/src/service/router.test.ts
@@ -17,12 +17,12 @@
 import { createRouter } from './router';
 import winston from 'winston';
 import { ConfigReader } from '@backstage/config';
-import { loadConfig } from '@backstage/config-loader';
+import { loadBackendConfig } from '@backstage/backend-common';
 
 describe('createRouter', () => {
   it('works', async () => {
     const logger = winston.createLogger();
-    const config = ConfigReader.fromConfigs(await loadConfig());
+    const config = ConfigReader.fromConfigs(await loadBackendConfig());
     const router = await createRouter({
       config,
       logger,
diff --git a/plugins/proxy-backend/src/service/standaloneServer.ts b/plugins/proxy-backend/src/service/standaloneServer.ts
index 84c803eeac..f75c044f0f 100644
--- a/plugins/proxy-backend/src/service/standaloneServer.ts
+++ b/plugins/proxy-backend/src/service/standaloneServer.ts
@@ -14,12 +14,14 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-import { createServiceBuilder } from '@backstage/backend-common';
+import {
+  createServiceBuilder,
+  loadBackendConfig,
+} from '@backstage/backend-common';
 import { Server } from 'http';
 import { Logger } from 'winston';
 import { createRouter } from './router';
 import { ConfigReader } from '@backstage/config';
-import { loadConfig } from '@backstage/config-loader';
 
 export interface ServerOptions {
   port: number;
@@ -34,7 +36,7 @@ export async function startStandaloneServer(
 
   logger.debug('Creating application...');
 
-  const config = ConfigReader.fromConfigs(await loadConfig());
+  const config = ConfigReader.fromConfigs(await loadBackendConfig());
   const router = await createRouter({
     config,
     logger,