--- title: REST for ASP.NET MVC SDK | daily.dev description: Demonstrates the REST for ASP.NET MVC SDK, a CodePlex project that lets existing ASP.NET MVC controllers expose XML/JSON output with minimal changes. Walks... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/rest-for-asp-net-mvc-sdk-fzzs8baaq twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: REST for ASP.NET MVC SDK | daily.dev og:description: Demonstrates the REST for ASP.NET MVC SDK, a CodePlex project that lets existing ASP.NET MVC controllers expose XML/JSON output with minimal changes. Walks... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/rest-for-asp-net-mvc-sdk-fzzs8baaq og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/fZzs8bAAq.png og:image:alt: REST for ASP.NET MVC SDK og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # REST for ASP.NET MVC SDK **[Maarten Balliauw](https://daily.dev/sources/maartenballiauw)** · 5 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Demonstrates the REST for ASP.NET MVC SDK, a CodePlex project that lets existing ASP.NET MVC controllers expose XML/JSON output with minimal changes. Walks through a simple CRUD Person controller, then shows how adding a reference, registering a ResourceControllerFactory and ResourceModelBinder in Global.asax.cs, and tagging controllers/actions with [WebApiEnabled] enables content negotiation via query string (?format=Xml/Json) or the HTTP Accept header, useful for AJAX calls needing the same data in multiple formats. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How do I add REST support with XML and JSON output to an existing ASP.NET MVC controller? Add a reference to System.Web.Mvc.Resources.dll from the REST for ASP.NET MVC SDK, register a ResourceControllerFactory as the controller factory and a ResourceModelBinder as the default model binder in Global.asax.cs, then decorate controllers or actions with the [WebApiEnabled] attribute. Clients can then request XML or JSON by appending ?format=Xml or ?format=Json to the URL, or by setting the HTTP Accept header. _Developers wiring REST output into existing MVC apps can find similar practical walkthroughs on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [ASP.NET Core Controllers: A Practical Guide to Building REST Endpoints](https://daily.dev/posts/asp-net-core-controllers-a-practical-guide-to-building-rest-endpoints-qbrdx5rqi) · We Are .NET · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Create a WCF Web Service in Visual Studio 2015](https://daily.dev/posts/create-a-wcf-web-service-in-visual-studio-2015-lhamcmupt) · C\# Corner · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Creating a Production-Ready CRUD Application in ASP.NET Core](https://daily.dev/posts/creating-a-production-ready-crud-application-in-asp-net-core-1mfpkrepl) · Telerik · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#aspnet](https://daily.dev/tags/aspnet), [#c#](https://daily.dev/tags/c#), [#rest-api](https://daily.dev/tags/rest-api) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/rest-for-asp-net-mvc-sdk-fzzs8baaq) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"REST for ASP.NET MVC SDK","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/rest-for-asp-net-mvc-sdk-fzzs8baaq","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/rest-for-asp-net-mvc-sdk-fzzs8baaq"},"datePublished":"2026-10-04T13:04:36.727Z","dateModified":"2026-10-15T02:22:42.355Z","description":"Demonstrates the REST for ASP.NET MVC SDK, a CodePlex project that lets existing ASP.NET MVC controllers expose XML/JSON output with minimal changes. Walks...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/bf9295dca37de4e80c996d484d22eb85?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/bf9295dca37de4e80c996d484d22eb85?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Maarten Balliauw","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Maarten Balliauw","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--rOTg3VYO--/f_auto,q_auto/v1791119043/logos/maartenballiauw?_a=BAMAMicg0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/maartenballiauw"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/rest-for-asp-net-mvc-sdk-fzzs8baaq","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"aspnet,c#,rest-api","timeRequired":"PT5M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Maarten Balliauw","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/maartenballiauw"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"REST for ASP.NET MVC SDK"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/rest-for-asp-net-mvc-sdk-fzzs8baaq#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I add REST support with XML and JSON output to an existing ASP.NET MVC controller?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Add a reference to System.Web.Mvc.Resources.dll from the REST for ASP.NET MVC SDK, register a ResourceControllerFactory as the controller factory and a ResourceModelBinder as the default model binder in Global.asax.cs, then decorate controllers or actions with the [WebApiEnabled] attribute. Clients can then request XML or JSON by appending ?format=Xml or ?format=Json to the URL, or by setting the HTTP Accept header. Developers wiring REST output into existing MVC apps can find similar practical walkthroughs on daily.dev."}}]} ```