The .NET client API for Optimizely Search & Navigation is built on the premise of "convention over configuration," meaning it "just works" using a set of default conventions. Using code, you can customize these conventions to suit your needs. This topic describes how to configure Optimizely Search & Navigation to start working with the .NET API.

To use the .NET API, first add references to the required assemblies, `EPiServer.Find.dll` and `NewtonSoft.Json.dll`. Next, configure the service URL and default index name in `web.config/app.config`.

Open the `web.config/app.config` file and add the following:

You can also configure the service URL and default index name in the `appSettings` section like this:

The .NET client API can get settings from the `Web.config/configSections` or `Web.config/appSettings` section. The settings value in `appSettings` takes higher priority and overwrites the value in `configSections`.

See also [Get started with Search & Navigation](🔗).

Next, create an instance of the Client class and start working with the Find service. See [Client class](🔗) for more details about next steps.