diff --git a/.changeset/red-peas-smoke.md b/.changeset/red-peas-smoke.md
deleted file mode 100644
index 4640e12b48..0000000000
--- a/.changeset/red-peas-smoke.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,6 +0,0 @@
----
-'@backstage/plugin-badges': patch
-'@backstage/plugin-badges-backend': patch
----
-
-New plugin to serve badges.
diff --git a/plugins/badges-backend/README.md b/plugins/badges-backend/README.md
index 59f5fc0445..e64360656d 100644
--- a/plugins/badges-backend/README.md
+++ b/plugins/badges-backend/README.md
@@ -6,12 +6,12 @@ Default implementation uses
 badges, in SVG.
 
 Currently, only entity badges are implemented. i.e. badges that may have entity
-specific information in them, and as such, are served from a entity specific
+specific information in them, and as such, are served from an entity specific
 endpoint.
 
 ## Installation
 
-Install the `@backstage/plugin-badges-backend` package in your backend packages,
+Install the `@backstage/plugin-badges-backend` package in your backend package,
 and then integrate the plugin using the following default setup for
 `src/plugins/badges.ts`:
 
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ factories, and provide them to the badge builder.
 
 ### Custom badges
 
-To provide custom badges, create a badges factories function, and use that when
+To provide custom badges, create a badge factories function, and use that when
 creating the badges backend router.
 
 ```ts
@@ -80,8 +80,8 @@ export const createMyCustomBadgeFactories = (): BadgeFactories => ({
 
 ## API
 
-The badges backend api exposes two main endpoints for entity badges. (the
-`/badges` prefix is arbitrary, and the default for the example backend.)
+The badges backend api exposes two main endpoints for entity badges. The
+`/badges` prefix is arbitrary, and the default for the example backend.
 
 - `/badges/entity/:namespace/:kind/:name/badge-specs` List all defined badges
   for a particular entity, in json format. See
diff --git a/plugins/badges-backend/src/badges.ts b/plugins/badges-backend/src/badges.ts
index 03e32814fd..2e2848a8af 100644
--- a/plugins/badges-backend/src/badges.ts
+++ b/plugins/badges-backend/src/badges.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
  */
 
 import { ENTITY_DEFAULT_NAMESPACE } from '@backstage/catalog-model';
+import { InputError } from '@backstage/errors';
 import { Badge, BadgeContext, BadgeFactories } from './types';
 
 function appTitle(context: BadgeContext): string {
@@ -27,14 +28,14 @@ function entityUrl(context: BadgeContext): string {
     e.metadata.namespace || ENTITY_DEFAULT_NAMESPACE
   }/${e.metadata.name}`;
   const catalogUrl = `${context.config.getString('app.baseUrl')}/catalog`;
-  return `${catalogUrl}/${entityUri}`;
+  return `${catalogUrl}/${entityUri}`.toLowerCase();
 }
 
 export const createDefaultBadgeFactories = (): BadgeFactories => ({
   pingback: {
-    createBadge: (context: BadgeContext): Badge | null => {
+    createBadge: (context: BadgeContext): Badge => {
       if (!context.entity) {
-        return null;
+        throw new InputError('"pingback" badge only defined for entities');
       }
       return {
         description: `Link to ${context.entity.metadata.name} in ${appTitle(
@@ -50,9 +51,9 @@ export const createDefaultBadgeFactories = (): BadgeFactories => ({
   },
 
   lifecycle: {
-    createBadge: (context: BadgeContext): Badge | null => {
+    createBadge: (context: BadgeContext): Badge => {
       if (!context.entity) {
-        return null;
+        throw new InputError('"lifecycle" badge only defined for entities');
       }
       return {
         description: 'Entity lifecycle badge',
@@ -66,9 +67,9 @@ export const createDefaultBadgeFactories = (): BadgeFactories => ({
   },
 
   owner: {
-    createBadge: (context: BadgeContext): Badge | null => {
+    createBadge: (context: BadgeContext): Badge => {
       if (!context.entity) {
-        return null;
+        throw new InputError('"owner" badge only defined for entities');
       }
       return {
         description: 'Entity owner badge',
@@ -82,11 +83,12 @@ export const createDefaultBadgeFactories = (): BadgeFactories => ({
   },
 
   docs: {
-    createBadge: (context: BadgeContext): Badge | null => {
+    createBadge: (context: BadgeContext): Badge => {
       if (!context.entity) {
-        return null;
+        throw new InputError('"docs" badge only defined for entities');
       }
       return {
+        description: 'Entity docs badge',
         kind: 'entity',
         label: 'docs',
         link: `${entityUrl(context)}/docs`,
diff --git a/plugins/badges-backend/src/lib/BadgeBuilder/DefaultBadgeBuilder.test.ts b/plugins/badges-backend/src/lib/BadgeBuilder/DefaultBadgeBuilder.test.ts
index 9fc9bcf32d..a36587f241 100644
--- a/plugins/badges-backend/src/lib/BadgeBuilder/DefaultBadgeBuilder.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/badges-backend/src/lib/BadgeBuilder/DefaultBadgeBuilder.test.ts
@@ -14,14 +14,14 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-import { Config } from '@backstage/config';
+import { Config, ConfigReader } from '@backstage/config';
 import { DefaultBadgeBuilder } from './DefaultBadgeBuilder';
 import { BadgeBuilder, BadgeOptions } from './types';
 import { BadgeContext, BadgeFactories } from '../../types';
 
 describe('DefaultBadgeBuilder', () => {
   let builder: BadgeBuilder;
-  let config: jest.Mocked<Config>;
+  let config: Config;
   let factories: BadgeFactories;
 
   const badge = {
@@ -32,24 +32,9 @@ describe('DefaultBadgeBuilder', () => {
   };
 
   beforeAll(() => {
-    config = {
-      get: jest.fn(),
-      getBoolean: jest.fn(),
-      getConfig: jest.fn(),
-      getConfigArray: jest.fn(),
-      getNumber: jest.fn(),
-      getOptional: jest.fn(),
-      getOptionalBoolean: jest.fn(),
-      getOptionalConfig: jest.fn(),
-      getOptionalConfigArray: jest.fn(),
-      getOptionalNumber: jest.fn(),
-      getOptionalString: jest.fn(),
-      getOptionalStringArray: jest.fn(),
-      getString: jest.fn(),
-      getStringArray: jest.fn(),
-      has: jest.fn(),
-      keys: jest.fn(),
-    };
+    config = new ConfigReader({
+      backend: { baseUrl: 'http://127.0.0.1' },
+    });
 
     factories = {
       testbadge: {
@@ -63,25 +48,24 @@ describe('DefaultBadgeBuilder', () => {
     builder = new DefaultBadgeBuilder(factories);
   });
 
-  it('getBadgeIds() returns all badge factory ids', async () => {
-    expect(await builder.getBadgeIds()).toEqual(['testbadge']);
+  it('getBadges() returns all badge factory ids', async () => {
+    expect(await builder.getBadges()).toEqual([{ id: 'testbadge' }]);
   });
 
-  describe('createBadge', () => {
+  describe('createBadge[Json|Svg]', () => {
     const context: BadgeContext = {
       badgeUrl: 'http://127.0.0.1/badge/url',
       config,
     };
 
-    it('returns the spec when format is "json"', async () => {
+    it('badge spec', async () => {
       const options: BadgeOptions = {
-        badgeId: 'testbadge',
+        badgeInfo: { id: 'testbadge' },
         context,
-        format: 'json',
       };
 
-      const spec = await builder.createBadge(options);
-      expect(JSON.parse(spec)).toEqual({
+      const spec = await builder.createBadgeJson(options);
+      expect(spec).toEqual({
         badge,
         id: 'testbadge',
         url: context.badgeUrl,
@@ -89,26 +73,24 @@ describe('DefaultBadgeBuilder', () => {
       });
     });
 
-    it('returns the badge image when format is "svg"', async () => {
+    it('badge image', async () => {
       const options: BadgeOptions = {
-        badgeId: 'testbadge',
+        badgeInfo: { id: 'testbadge' },
         context,
-        format: 'svg',
       };
 
-      const spec = await builder.createBadge(options);
-      expect(spec).toEqual(expect.stringMatching(/^<svg[^>]*>.*<\/svg>$/));
+      const img = await builder.createBadgeSvg(options);
+      expect(img).toEqual(expect.stringMatching(/^<svg[^>]*>.*<\/svg>$/));
     });
 
     it('returns "unknown" badge for missing factory', async () => {
       const options: BadgeOptions = {
-        badgeId: 'other-id',
+        badgeInfo: { id: 'other-id' },
         context,
-        format: 'json',
       };
 
-      const spec = await builder.createBadge(options);
-      expect(JSON.parse(spec)).toEqual({
+      const spec = await builder.createBadgeJson(options);
+      expect(spec).toEqual({
         badge: {
           label: 'unknown badge',
           message: 'other-id',
diff --git a/plugins/badges-backend/src/lib/BadgeBuilder/DefaultBadgeBuilder.ts b/plugins/badges-backend/src/lib/BadgeBuilder/DefaultBadgeBuilder.ts
index ce905d8e9d..42823ebd09 100644
--- a/plugins/badges-backend/src/lib/BadgeBuilder/DefaultBadgeBuilder.ts
+++ b/plugins/badges-backend/src/lib/BadgeBuilder/DefaultBadgeBuilder.ts
@@ -14,72 +14,69 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
+import { InputError } from '@backstage/errors';
 import { makeBadge, Format } from 'badge-maker';
-import { BadgeBuilder, BadgeOptions } from './types';
+import { BadgeBuilder, BadgeInfo, BadgeOptions, BadgeSpec } from './types';
 import { Badge, BadgeFactories } from '../../types';
 
 export class DefaultBadgeBuilder implements BadgeBuilder {
   constructor(private readonly factories: BadgeFactories) {}
 
-  public async getBadgeIds(): Promise<string[]> {
-    return Object.keys(this.factories);
+  public async getBadges(): Promise<BadgeInfo[]> {
+    return Object.keys(this.factories).map(id => ({ id }));
   }
 
-  public async createBadge(options: BadgeOptions): Promise<string> {
-    const factory = this.factories[options.badgeId];
+  public async createBadgeJson(options: BadgeOptions): Promise<BadgeSpec> {
+    const factory = this.factories[options.badgeInfo.id];
     const badge = factory
       ? factory.createBadge(options.context)
       : ({
           label: 'unknown badge',
-          message: options.badgeId,
+          message: options.badgeInfo.id,
           color: 'red',
         } as Badge);
 
     if (!badge) {
-      return '';
+      throw new InputError(
+        `The badge factory failed to produce a "${options.badgeInfo.id}" badge with the provided context`,
+      );
     }
 
-    switch (options.format) {
-      case 'json':
-        return JSON.stringify(
-          {
-            badge,
-            id: options.badgeId,
-            url: options.context.badgeUrl,
-            markdown: this.getMarkdownCode(badge, options.context.badgeUrl),
-          },
-          null,
-          2,
-        );
-      case 'svg':
-        try {
-          const format = {
-            message: badge.message,
-            color: badge.color || '#36BAA2',
-            label: badge.label || '',
-            labelColor: badge.labelColor || '',
-            style: badge.style || 'flat-square',
-          } as Format;
-          return makeBadge(format);
-        } catch (err) {
-          return makeBadge({
-            label: 'invalid badge',
-            message: `${err}`,
-            color: 'red',
-          });
-        }
-      default:
-        throw new TypeError(`unsupported badge format: ${options.format}`);
+    return {
+      badge,
+      id: options.badgeInfo.id,
+      url: options.context.badgeUrl,
+      markdown: this.getMarkdownCode(badge, options.context.badgeUrl),
+    };
+  }
+
+  public async createBadgeSvg(options: BadgeOptions): Promise<string> {
+    const { badge } = await this.createBadgeJson(options);
+    try {
+      const format = {
+        message: badge.message,
+        color: badge.color || '#36BAA2',
+        label: badge.label || '',
+        labelColor: badge.labelColor || '',
+        style: badge.style || 'flat-square',
+      } as Format;
+      return makeBadge(format);
+    } catch (err) {
+      return makeBadge({
+        label: 'invalid badge',
+        message: `${err}`,
+        color: 'red',
+      });
     }
   }
 
-  private getMarkdownCode(params: Badge, badge_url: string): string {
-    let alt_text = `${params.label}: ${params.message}`;
+  private getMarkdownCode(params: Badge, badgeUrl: string): string {
+    let altText = `${params.label}: ${params.message}`;
     if (params.description && params.description !== params.label) {
-      alt_text = `${params.description}, ${alt_text}`;
+      altText = `${params.description}, ${altText}`;
     }
     const tooltip = params.description ? ` "${params.description}"` : '';
-    const img = `![${alt_text}](${badge_url}${tooltip})`;
+    const img = `![${altText}](${badgeUrl}${tooltip})`;
     return params.link ? `[${img}](${params.link})` : img;
   }
 }
diff --git a/plugins/badges-backend/src/lib/BadgeBuilder/index.ts b/plugins/badges-backend/src/lib/BadgeBuilder/index.ts
index 20f18b8852..4947db96e2 100644
--- a/plugins/badges-backend/src/lib/BadgeBuilder/index.ts
+++ b/plugins/badges-backend/src/lib/BadgeBuilder/index.ts
@@ -15,4 +15,4 @@
  */
 
 export { DefaultBadgeBuilder } from './DefaultBadgeBuilder';
-export * from './types';
+export type { BadgeBuilder, BadgeInfo, BadgeOptions, BadgeSpec } from './types';
diff --git a/plugins/badges-backend/src/lib/BadgeBuilder/types.ts b/plugins/badges-backend/src/lib/BadgeBuilder/types.ts
index 9c17d8e3c3..fcd1cd4c5b 100644
--- a/plugins/badges-backend/src/lib/BadgeBuilder/types.ts
+++ b/plugins/badges-backend/src/lib/BadgeBuilder/types.ts
@@ -14,15 +14,33 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-import { BadgeContext } from '../../types';
+import { Badge, BadgeContext } from '../../types';
+
+export type BadgeInfo = {
+  id: string;
+};
 
 export type BadgeOptions = {
-  badgeId: string;
+  badgeInfo: BadgeInfo;
   context: BadgeContext;
-  format: 'svg' | 'json';
+};
+
+export type BadgeSpec = {
+  /** Badge id */
+  id: string;
+
+  /** Badge data */
+  badge: Badge;
+
+  /** The URL to the badge image */
+  url: string;
+
+  /** The markdown code to use the badge */
+  markdown: string;
 };
 
 export type BadgeBuilder = {
-  createBadge(options: BadgeOptions): Promise<string>;
-  getBadgeIds(): Promise<string[]>;
+  getBadges(): Promise<BadgeInfo[]>;
+  createBadgeJson(options: BadgeOptions): Promise<BadgeSpec>;
+  createBadgeSvg(options: BadgeOptions): Promise<string>;
 };
diff --git a/plugins/badges-backend/src/service/router.test.ts b/plugins/badges-backend/src/service/router.test.ts
index c05a3c9c58..e8de5dfd42 100644
--- a/plugins/badges-backend/src/service/router.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/badges-backend/src/service/router.test.ts
@@ -16,9 +16,13 @@
 
 import express from 'express';
 import request from 'supertest';
+import {
+  PluginEndpointDiscovery,
+  SingleHostDiscovery,
+} from '@backstage/backend-common';
 import { CatalogApi } from '@backstage/catalog-client';
 import type { Entity } from '@backstage/catalog-model';
-import { Config } from '@backstage/config';
+import { Config, ConfigReader } from '@backstage/config';
 import { createRouter } from './router';
 import { BadgeBuilder } from '../lib';
 
@@ -26,7 +30,8 @@ describe('createRouter', () => {
   let app: express.Express;
   let badgeBuilder: jest.Mocked<BadgeBuilder>;
   let catalog: jest.Mocked<CatalogApi>;
-  let config: jest.Mocked<Config>;
+  let config: Config;
+  let discovery: PluginEndpointDiscovery;
 
   const entity: Entity = {
     apiVersion: 'v1',
@@ -38,15 +43,19 @@ describe('createRouter', () => {
 
   const badge = {
     id: 'test-badge',
-    badge: { label: 'test badge' },
+    badge: {
+      label: 'test',
+      message: 'badge',
+    },
     url: '/...',
     markdown: '[![...](...)]',
   };
 
   beforeAll(async () => {
     badgeBuilder = {
-      createBadge: jest.fn(),
-      getBadgeIds: jest.fn(),
+      getBadges: jest.fn(),
+      createBadgeJson: jest.fn(),
+      createBadgeSvg: jest.fn(),
     };
     catalog = {
       addLocation: jest.fn(),
@@ -56,25 +65,21 @@ describe('createRouter', () => {
       getLocationById: jest.fn(),
       removeEntityByUid: jest.fn(),
     };
-    config = {
-      get: jest.fn(),
-      getBoolean: jest.fn(),
-      getConfig: jest.fn(),
-      getConfigArray: jest.fn(),
-      getNumber: jest.fn(),
-      getOptional: jest.fn(),
-      getOptionalBoolean: jest.fn(),
-      getOptionalConfig: jest.fn(),
-      getOptionalConfigArray: jest.fn(),
-      getOptionalNumber: jest.fn(),
-      getOptionalString: jest.fn(),
-      getOptionalStringArray: jest.fn(),
-      getString: jest.fn(),
-      getStringArray: jest.fn(),
-      has: jest.fn(),
-      keys: jest.fn(),
-    };
-    const router = await createRouter({ badgeBuilder, catalog, config });
+
+    config = new ConfigReader({
+      backend: {
+        baseUrl: 'http://127.0.0.1',
+        listen: { port: 7000 },
+      },
+    });
+    discovery = SingleHostDiscovery.fromConfig(config);
+
+    const router = await createRouter({
+      badgeBuilder,
+      catalog,
+      config,
+      discovery,
+    });
     app = express().use(router);
   });
 
@@ -83,7 +88,12 @@ describe('createRouter', () => {
   });
 
   it('works', async () => {
-    const router = await createRouter({ badgeBuilder, catalog, config });
+    const router = await createRouter({
+      badgeBuilder,
+      catalog,
+      config,
+      discovery,
+    });
     expect(router).toBeDefined();
   });
 
@@ -91,17 +101,15 @@ describe('createRouter', () => {
     it('returns all badge specs for entity', async () => {
       catalog.getEntityByName.mockResolvedValueOnce(entity);
 
-      badgeBuilder.getBadgeIds.mockResolvedValueOnce([badge.id]);
-      badgeBuilder.createBadge.mockResolvedValueOnce(
-        JSON.stringify(badge, null, 2),
-      );
+      badgeBuilder.getBadges.mockResolvedValueOnce([{ id: badge.id }]);
+      badgeBuilder.createBadgeJson.mockResolvedValueOnce(badge);
 
       const response = await request(app).get(
         '/entity/default/service/test/badge-specs',
       );
 
       expect(response.status).toEqual(200);
-      expect(response.text).toEqual(`[${JSON.stringify(badge, null, 2)}]`);
+      expect(response.text).toEqual(JSON.stringify([badge], null, 2));
 
       expect(catalog.getEntityByName).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
       expect(catalog.getEntityByName).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
@@ -110,31 +118,30 @@ describe('createRouter', () => {
         name: 'test',
       });
 
-      expect(badgeBuilder.getBadgeIds).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-      expect(badgeBuilder.createBadge).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-      expect(badgeBuilder.createBadge).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
-        badgeId: badge.id,
+      expect(badgeBuilder.getBadges).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+      expect(badgeBuilder.createBadgeJson).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+      expect(badgeBuilder.createBadgeJson).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+        badgeInfo: { id: badge.id },
         context: {
           badgeUrl: expect.stringMatching(
-            /http:\/\/127.0.0.1:\d+\/entity\/default\/service\/test\/test-badge/,
+            /http:\/\/127.0.0.1\/api\/badges\/entity\/default\/service\/test\/badge\/test-badge/,
           ),
           config,
           entity,
         },
-        format: 'json',
       });
     });
   });
 
-  describe('GET /entity/:namespace/:kind/:name/test-badge', () => {
+  describe('GET /entity/:namespace/:kind/:name/badge/test-badge', () => {
     it('returns badge for entity', async () => {
       catalog.getEntityByName.mockResolvedValueOnce(entity);
 
       const image = '<svg>...</svg>';
-      badgeBuilder.createBadge.mockResolvedValueOnce(image);
+      badgeBuilder.createBadgeSvg.mockResolvedValueOnce(image);
 
       const response = await request(app).get(
-        '/entity/default/service/test/test-badge',
+        '/entity/default/service/test/badge/test-badge',
       );
 
       expect(response.status).toEqual(200);
@@ -147,18 +154,17 @@ describe('createRouter', () => {
         name: 'test',
       });
 
-      expect(badgeBuilder.getBadgeIds).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(0);
-      expect(badgeBuilder.createBadge).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-      expect(badgeBuilder.createBadge).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
-        badgeId: badge.id,
+      expect(badgeBuilder.getBadges).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(0);
+      expect(badgeBuilder.createBadgeSvg).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+      expect(badgeBuilder.createBadgeSvg).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+        badgeInfo: { id: badge.id },
         context: {
           badgeUrl: expect.stringMatching(
-            /http:\/\/127.0.0.1:\d+\/entity\/default\/service\/test\/test-badge/,
+            /http:\/\/127.0.0.1\/api\/badges\/entity\/default\/service\/test\/badge\/test-badge/,
           ),
           config,
           entity,
         },
-        format: 'svg',
       });
     });
   });
diff --git a/plugins/badges-backend/src/service/router.ts b/plugins/badges-backend/src/service/router.ts
index 797d23f432..bfbb10fc94 100644
--- a/plugins/badges-backend/src/service/router.ts
+++ b/plugins/badges-backend/src/service/router.ts
@@ -31,17 +31,14 @@ export interface RouterOptions {
   badgeFactories?: BadgeFactories;
   catalog?: CatalogApi;
   config: Config;
-  discovery?: PluginEndpointDiscovery;
+  discovery: PluginEndpointDiscovery;
 }
 
 export async function createRouter(
   options: RouterOptions,
 ): Promise<express.Router> {
-  if (!options.catalog && !options.discovery) {
-    throw new Error('must provide either catalog api or discovery api');
-  }
   const catalog =
-    options.catalog || new CatalogClient({ discoveryApi: options.discovery! });
+    options.catalog || new CatalogClient({ discoveryApi: options.discovery });
   const badgeBuilder =
     options.badgeBuilder ||
     new DefaultBadgeBuilder(options.badgeFactories || {});
@@ -56,70 +53,84 @@ export async function createRouter(
       );
     }
 
-    const context: BadgeContext = {
-      badgeUrl: '',
-      config: options.config,
-      entity,
-    };
-
     const specs = [];
-    for (const badgeId of await badgeBuilder.getBadgeIds()) {
-      context.badgeUrl = [
-        `${req.protocol}://`,
-        req.headers.host,
-        req.originalUrl.replace(/badge-specs$/, badgeId),
-      ].join('');
-      const badge = await badgeBuilder.createBadge({
-        badgeId,
-        context,
-        format: 'json',
-      });
+    for (const badgeInfo of await badgeBuilder.getBadges()) {
+      const context: BadgeContext = {
+        badgeUrl: await getBadgeUrl(
+          namespace,
+          kind,
+          name,
+          badgeInfo.id,
+          options,
+        ),
+        config: options.config,
+        entity,
+      };
 
+      const badge = await badgeBuilder.createBadgeJson({ badgeInfo, context });
       if (badge) {
         specs.push(badge);
       }
     }
 
     res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json');
-    res.status(200).send(`[${specs.join(',\n')}]`);
+    res.status(200).send(JSON.stringify(specs, null, 2));
   });
 
-  router.get('/entity/:namespace/:kind/:name/:badgeId', async (req, res) => {
-    const { namespace, kind, name, badgeId } = req.params;
-    const entity = await catalog.getEntityByName({ namespace, kind, name });
-    if (!entity) {
-      throw new NotFoundError(
-        `No ${kind} entity in ${namespace} named "${name}"`,
-      );
-    }
+  router.get(
+    '/entity/:namespace/:kind/:name/badge/:badgeId',
+    async (req, res) => {
+      const { namespace, kind, name, badgeId } = req.params;
+      const entity = await catalog.getEntityByName({ namespace, kind, name });
+      if (!entity) {
+        throw new NotFoundError(
+          `No ${kind} entity in ${namespace} named "${name}"`,
+        );
+      }
 
-    let format =
-      req.accepts(['image/svg+xml', 'application/json']) || 'image/svg+xml';
-    if (req.query.format === 'json') {
-      format = 'application/json';
-    }
+      let format =
+        req.accepts(['image/svg+xml', 'application/json']) || 'image/svg+xml';
+      if (req.query.format === 'json') {
+        format = 'application/json';
+      }
 
-    const badgeUrl = [
-      `${req.protocol}://`,
-      req.headers.host,
-      req.originalUrl,
-    ].join('');
+      const badgeOptions = {
+        badgeInfo: { id: badgeId },
+        context: {
+          badgeUrl: await getBadgeUrl(namespace, kind, name, badgeId, options),
+          config: options.config,
+          entity,
+        },
+      };
 
-    const data = await badgeBuilder.createBadge({
-      badgeId,
-      context: { badgeUrl, config: options.config, entity },
-      format: format === 'application/json' ? 'json' : 'svg',
-    });
+      let data: string;
+      if (format === 'application/json') {
+        data = JSON.stringify(
+          await badgeBuilder.createBadgeJson(badgeOptions),
+          null,
+          2,
+        );
+      } else {
+        data = await badgeBuilder.createBadgeSvg(badgeOptions);
+      }
 
-    if (!data) {
-      throw new NotFoundError(`Unknown badge "${badgeId}" for ${kind} entity.`);
-    }
-
-    res.setHeader('Content-Type', format);
-    res.status(200).send(data);
-  });
+      res.setHeader('Content-Type', format);
+      res.status(200).send(data);
+    },
+  );
 
   router.use(errorHandler());
 
   return router;
 }
+
+async function getBadgeUrl(
+  namespace: string,
+  kind: string,
+  name: string,
+  badgeId: string,
+  options: RouterOptions,
+): Promise<string> {
+  const baseUrl = await options.discovery.getExternalBaseUrl('badges');
+  return `${baseUrl}/entity/${namespace}/${kind}/${name}/badge/${badgeId}`;
+}
diff --git a/plugins/badges-backend/src/types.ts b/plugins/badges-backend/src/types.ts
index ee4876b90e..69fc275f3f 100644
--- a/plugins/badges-backend/src/types.ts
+++ b/plugins/badges-backend/src/types.ts
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ export interface BadgeContext {
 }
 
 export interface BadgeFactory {
-  createBadge(context: BadgeContext): Badge | null;
+  createBadge(context: BadgeContext): Badge;
 }
 
 export interface BadgeFactories {
diff --git a/plugins/badges/package.json b/plugins/badges/package.json
index 51aae31621..1b26ed69dd 100644
--- a/plugins/badges/package.json
+++ b/plugins/badges/package.json
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
   "dependencies": {
     "@backstage/catalog-model": "^0.7.3",
     "@backstage/core": "^0.7.1",
+    "@backstage/errors": "^0.1.1",
     "@backstage/plugin-catalog-react": "^0.1.1",
     "@backstage/theme": "^0.2.4",
     "@material-ui/core": "^4.11.0",
diff --git a/plugins/badges/src/api/BadgesClient.ts b/plugins/badges/src/api/BadgesClient.ts
index 4160278d10..927a16a7eb 100644
--- a/plugins/badges/src/api/BadgesClient.ts
+++ b/plugins/badges/src/api/BadgesClient.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 import { generatePath } from 'react-router';
 import { DiscoveryApi } from '@backstage/core';
+import { ResponseError } from '@backstage/errors';
 import { Entity, ENTITY_DEFAULT_NAMESPACE } from '@backstage/catalog-model';
 import { entityRoute } from '@backstage/plugin-catalog-react';
 import { BadgesApi, BadgeSpec } from './types';
@@ -29,11 +30,13 @@ export class BadgesClient implements BadgesApi {
 
   public async getEntityBadgeSpecs(entity: Entity): Promise<BadgeSpec[]> {
     const entityBadgeSpecsUrl = await this.getEntityBadgeSpecsUrl(entity);
-    const specs = (await (
-      await fetch(entityBadgeSpecsUrl)
-    ).json()) as BadgeSpec[];
+    const response = await fetch(entityBadgeSpecsUrl);
 
-    return specs;
+    if (!response.ok) {
+      throw await ResponseError.fromResponse(response);
+    }
+
+    return await response.json();
   }
 
   private async getEntityBadgeSpecsUrl(entity: Entity): Promise<string> {
diff --git a/plugins/badges/src/components/EntityBadgesDialog.tsx b/plugins/badges/src/components/EntityBadgesDialog.tsx
index ac0d46f114..74a244e698 100644
--- a/plugins/badges/src/components/EntityBadgesDialog.tsx
+++ b/plugins/badges/src/components/EntityBadgesDialog.tsx
@@ -15,7 +15,12 @@
  */
 
 import { Entity } from '@backstage/catalog-model';
-import { CodeSnippet, Progress, useApi } from '@backstage/core';
+import {
+  CodeSnippet,
+  Progress,
+  ResponseErrorPanel,
+  useApi,
+} from '@backstage/core';
 import {
   Button,
   Dialog,
@@ -28,7 +33,6 @@ import {
   useTheme,
 } from '@material-ui/core';
 import { makeStyles } from '@material-ui/core/styles';
-import Alert from '@material-ui/lab/Alert';
 import React from 'react';
 import { useAsync } from 'react-use';
 import { badgesApiRef } from '../api';
@@ -80,17 +84,11 @@ export const EntityBadgesDialog = ({ open, onClose, entity }: Props) => {
 
   return (
     <Dialog fullScreen={fullScreen} open={open} onClose={onClose}>
-      <DialogTitle id="badges-dialog-title">Entity Badges</DialogTitle>
+      <DialogTitle>Entity Badges</DialogTitle>
 
       <DialogContent>
-        {loading ? <Progress /> : null}
-
-        {error ? (
-          <Alert severity="error" style={{ wordBreak: 'break-word' }}>
-            {error.toString()}
-          </Alert>
-        ) : null}
-
+        {loading && <Progress />}
+        {error && <ResponseErrorPanel error={error} />}
         {content}
       </DialogContent>