How do I specify if I want JSON or XML in ASP.NET Web API?

Question

I\'ve written two ASP.NET Web API applications this week which both contain a single simple controller; I\'ve tweaked each to get them to work, include exceptions, and so on

Answer 1

Two well written answers. I will explain the default behavior in this answer.

What will be the default behavior ? i.e if "Accept: */*"

From official docs. (go through this doc completely to understand end to end)

If there are still no matches, the content negotiator simply picks the first formatter that can serialize the type.

To summarize, following is the order.

1. Application looks for the Accept header. If accept header value contains specific format, it will use that formatter.

2. if */* is given for Accept header, then the first item in config.Formatters list will be choosen.

Bonus point: If you have not edited config.Formatters , then default will be json value.