public static void Register(HttpConfiguration config) { // Configure Json and Xml formatters config.Formatters.JsonPreserveReferences(); config.Formatters.XmlPreserveReferences(); // Configure ProtoBuf formatter var protoFormatter = new ProtoBufFormatter(); protoFormatter.ProtobufPreserveReferences(typeof(Category) .Assembly.GetTypes()); config.Formatters.Add(protoFormatter); // Web API routes config.MapHttpAttributeRoutes(); config.Routes.MapHttpRoute( name: "DefaultApi", routeTemplate: "api/{controller}/{id}", defaults: new { id = RouteParameter.Optional } ); }