ASP.NET How do I use Automapper to wrap JSON to return a list of JSON Objects with root name

Question

I'm looking for a clean way to wrap my JSON responses to a list of objects within an JSON object using AutoMapper(Sorry if I'm unclear, I'm not sure what the correct name of the action I want to do is)

This is what my endpoint looks like:

[HttpGet]
public IHttpActionResult GetDevices()
{
    var deviceDtos = _context.Devices.ToList()
        .Select(Mapper.Map<Device, DeviceDto>);

    return Ok(deviceDtos);
}

This is what my Mappingprofile for device looks like:

public MappingProfile()
{
    Mapper.CreateMap<Device, DeviceDto>();
    Mapper.CreateMap<DeviceDto, Device>();
}

This is what I currently get:

[
  {
    "$id": "1",
    "id": "abc",
    "name": "abc1",
    "deviceTypeName": "abc",
    "lastSeen": abc,
    "contactLost": abc,
    "contactLostTime": abc,
    "isRegistered": abc,
    "dataCollectorId": "abc",
    "dataCollectorName": "abc",
    "locationId": "abc",
    "locationName": "abc"
  },
]

But what I want is:

{
  "Devices" : 
  [
  {
    "$id": "1",
    "id": "abc",
    "name": "abc1",
    "deviceTypeName": "abc",
    "lastSeen": abc,
    "contactLost": abc,
    "contactLostTime": abc,
    "isRegistered": abc,
    "dataCollectorId": "abc",
    "dataCollectorName": "abc",
    "locationId": "abc",
    "locationName": "abc"
  },
]

}

I have looked through similar posts, and they suggest using JSONConvert.Serialize(new{Device = device}), but when I do this the format either dissapears or I get \n \r, or if I use Formatting.None the object is no longer wrapped inside a Device JSON object.

I've also looked through: Automapper:Converting JSON to list of objects

But I'm not able to make this work with what I'm doing.

I've tried using JsonObject(Title = "Devices") but that doesn't show.

Can I add something to my CreateMap() that makes this possible?

If you feel like you need additional code/information I'd be happy to supply it. Thank you in advance

Ruben Vardanyan · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-03 10:12:50Z

2

There is nothing to do with AutoMapper configuration. You just need to wrap your list inside an object. You can use anonymous class for that

return Ok(new {Devices = deviceDtos});

or you can create wrapper class and return instance of that class

public class DevicesReponse
{
    public List<DeviceDto> Devices { get; set; }
}

and use your wrapper class as response

var response = new DevicesResponse { Devices = devicesDtos };
return Ok(response);

edited May 3, 2017 at 10:12

answered May 3, 2017 at 9:58

Ruben Vardanyan

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5 Comments

emmep Over a year ago

You are a life saver! Is there any way to put an attribute on the DTO so that I can set the name of the object without creating a custom wrapper class? I've tried using [JsonObject(Title = "devices")] but it still says "deviceDto".

Ruben Vardanyan Over a year ago

You have List of objects, so you can't put any attribute to wrap it, or you need to use your own list class and put an attribute on it. In my opinion would be better to create that wrapper class

emmep Over a year ago

Ok, I will try using the wrapper class. Should I return Ok( new{WrapperClass = deviceDtos}) or should my return statement be different when using the wrapper class? Thank you once again

Ruben Vardanyan Over a year ago

No, you need to pass instance of wrapper class to Ok method. I added an example to answer

emmep Over a year ago

It works! Thank you so much for the help. I guess I thought that there must be an built-in solution to make this easier, but I think this is the best way to do it. Again, thank you.

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