How to use string "api" in ASP.NET MVC request URL? - asp.net-mvc

Question

By testing and wasting obscene amount of time I have found out that ASP.NET MVC has a bug which prevents using the string "api" in request URL. I wan to access my method with URL like this
www.mysite.com/api/test
This is not an unexpected wish. In fact it an an obvious Url choice.
Is there a workaround to achieve this?
UPDATE
By request routing definition.
public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
{
routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");
// this executes, checked it in debugger
routes.MapRoute(
name: "Test",
url: "api/test",
defaults: new { controller = "Api", action = "Test" }
);
}
ApiController
public class ApiController : Controller
{
public ActionResult Test()
{
return Content("TEST TEST TEST");
}
{

Answer 1

If you have the WebApi packages installed, you'll find a WebApiConfig.cs class in App_Start. Here's what it looks like:
public static class WebApiConfig
{
public static void Register(HttpConfiguration config)
{
config.Routes.MapHttpRoute(
name: "DefaultApi",
routeTemplate: "api/{controller}/{id}",
defaults: new { id = RouteParameter.Optional }
);
}
}
So, assuming you don't change the default code in Global.asax.cs, this route gets added to the routing table. Hence, why your /api/whatever route doesn't work.
If you're not using WebApi, I would suggest removing the packages. Otherwise, you can simply change the "root" part of the API route to something else:
public static class WebApiConfig
{
public static void Register(HttpConfiguration config)
{
config.Routes.MapHttpRoute(
name: "DefaultApi",
/* changed 'api' to 'restsvc' */
routeTemplate: "restsvc/{controller}/{id}",
defaults: new { id = RouteParameter.Optional }
);
}
}