Beehiiv as my login?

First, I like the term identity. Software developers will argue for terms like Authorization or Authentication, but I don’t use those terms because, WTH, they are too functional.

For founders, it comes down to knowing who is on your site, who has access to some features, and who does not.

So, identity.

Many solutions are available for controlling access, starting with simple usernames and passwords and extending into third-party solutions like Auth0 and Okra. Startups often select options that allow the user to select the identification process that works best for their customers and user cases. So, logging in using Gmail, Facebook, etc., is all available.

While all the options I outlined are valid, they are legacy solutions. They have been around for a while and have had their impacts on roadmaps, code, etc. Is there a new way?

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So I started to play with the idea of using Beehiiv as the identity provider.

This is not the intended use for Beehiiv, but it’s not (clearly) against the terms of use.

What if I can make the identity providers stupidly simple? You can log in to other Low Code CTO ecosystem applications using their login and subscription status from Beehiiv.

Win win. Right?

So I built it. I set up an API that I would host on Render.com, using SuperTokens to provide email magic links and Beehiiv API to validate the user. The Express API is hosted on Render using the domain: https://access.lowcodecto.com/. Finally, I set up email templates on PostMark.com.

Each time I spin up an application, I want to restrict access to only my Beehiiv members. I can provide a simple magic link workflow. The Application knows that it needs to restrict access to the App, and to give the user an easy way to log in, they provide their email addresses.

I open-sourced all the source code because it's Friday. Clone the repo and be free.

Below is a screenshot of the AI prompts I use to tell a new Bolt.new app to use my little Beehiiv identity workflow.

The login flow then looks up the email address in Beehiiv, confirms they are active subscribers, and generates a one-time email link sent to the user. When the user clicks the link in their email, they are returned to the application as a verified user.

To test this workflow, I built a simple single-page application. When I enter the email and return to the URL for the application, the Beehiiv Identity workflow sends the email. The text application shows the magic link. This was an easy way to test a workflow that relies on email.

Hubspot, Slack, and almost any CRM can do this same workflow. I am building the same workflow for a Slack workspace that needs to drive up community engagement.