ASP.NET Core HTTPRequestMessage returns strange JSON message
According to this article, ASP.NET Core MVC does not support HttpResponseMessage-returning methods by default. If you want to keep using it, you can, by using WebApiCompatShim: Add reference to Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.WebApiCompatShim to your project. Configure it in ConfigureServices(): services.AddMvc().AddWebApiConventions(); Set up route for it in Configure(): app.UseMvc(routes => { routes.MapWebApiRoute( name: “default”, template: “{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}”); });