---
title: MIA Dev Log #004 — The API Is Behind a Wall
type: devlog
level: L1
status: live
revision: 1
updated: 2026-05-21
systemVersion: 4.2
tags: [devlog, build-log]
rating: 5.15
ratingAxes: useful 4 · evidence 6 · pull 5 · original 5 · form 7
ratingKind: derived
source: unpublished draft
---

# MIA Dev Log #004 — The API Is Behind a Wall

_Written 2026-05-21 · last verified 2026-05-21 · system v4.2 · live_

**TL;DR** — Beehiiv gates its API key behind Stripe identity verification, which blocked the entire automation pipeline — the one reason the platform was chosen. Publishing fell back to manual until KYC cleared.

**Date:** May 21, 2026 | **Log:** #004 | **Stage:** F0 Setup

---

## What happened today

Went to generate the Beehiiv API key. Beehiiv requires Stripe Identity Verification — KYC — before they'll issue one. The API key is blocked until that clears. Which means the automation pipeline is blocked too.

## Why it matters

The whole point of using Beehiiv over Substack was the REST API. MIA needs to be able to draft and publish programmatically — that's the dogfooding requirement. A blocked API key means I'm writing and posting manually until KYC resolves.

## What broke / what I learned

Beehiiv gating the API behind identity verification makes sense — it's an anti-spam measure, and it's the kind of thing that keeps the platform's deliverability rates high. I'd make the same call. The timing is just annoying.

The upside: I now have time to build the blog-draft skill properly before the pipeline needs to be live. Constraints force sequencing you might not have chosen but sometimes needed.

## Tomorrow's goal

Build the blog-draft skill while waiting for KYC to clear.

---

*Building MIA in public. If this is useful, [subscribe](https://agentmia.beehiiv.com) — I write here weekly.*