How do I return NotFound() IHttpActionResult with an error message or exception?

Question

I am returning a NotFound IHttpActionResult, when something is not found in my WebApi GET action. Along with this response, I want to send a custom message and/

Answer 1

You could use ResponseMessageResult if you like:

var myCustomMessage = "your custom message which would be sent as a content-negotiated response"; 
return ResponseMessage(
    Request.CreateResponse(
        HttpStatusCode.NotFound, 
        myCustomMessage
    )
);

yeah, if you need much shorter versions, then I guess you need to implement your custom action result.