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

I was needing to create an IHttpActionResult instance in the body of an IExceptionHandler class, in order to set the ExceptionHandlerContext.Result property. However I also wanted to set a custom ReasonPhrase.

I found that a ResponseMessageResult could wrap a HttpResponseMessage (which allows ReasonPhrase to be set easily).

For Example:

public class MyExceptionHandler : ExceptionHandler
{
    public override void Handle(ExceptionHandlerContext context)
    {
        var ex = context.Exception as IRecordNotFoundException;
        if (ex != null)
        {
            context.Result = new ResponseMessageResult(new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.NotFound) { ReasonPhrase = $"{ex.EntityName} not found" });
        }
    }
}