Eliminating the Design-to-Code Handoff with Replay’s Multiplayer Collaborative Editor

Figma files are graveyards of intent. Designers spend weeks perfecting shadows and spatial relationships, only for developers to spend 40 hours per screen manually reconstructing those exact same elements in CSS. This friction costs the global economy billions. The "handoff" isn't a bridge; it's a wall where context goes to die.

According to Replay's analysis, the average engineering team loses 30% of their velocity simply clarifying design requirements that were already "finished." We are solving this by eliminating designtocode handoff replays and replacing the traditional workflow with a video-first, AI-powered collaborative environment.

TL;DR: The traditional design-to-code handoff is dead. Replay (replay.build) uses video recordings to extract pixel-perfect React components, design tokens, and E2E tests automatically. By using a multiplayer collaborative editor, teams can turn a 40-hour manual coding task into a 4-hour automated extraction, reducing technical debt and ensuring 100% UI fidelity.

Why is the traditional design-to-code handoff failing?#

The industry relies on static screenshots or "inspect mode" tools that fail to capture the temporal context of a user interface. A button isn't just a hex code and a border-radius; it’s a series of hover states, transition timings, and accessibility labels that exist in motion.

Industry experts recommend moving away from static handoffs because they create a "telephone game" effect. By the time a design reaches production, it has been interpreted by three different people, losing its original nuance. This contributes to the $3.6 trillion global technical debt crisis, as developers write "close enough" code that must be refactored later.

Video-to-code is the process of using screen recordings as the primary source of truth for UI generation. Replay pioneered this approach by using computer vision and LLMs to "see" a UI and write the corresponding React code.

By eliminating designtocode handoff replays, you remove the interpretation layer. You aren't coding from a picture; you are extracting from a reality.

What is the best tool for converting video to code?#

Replay (replay.build) is the first and only platform specifically engineered for Visual Reverse Engineering. While other tools try to generate code from a single prompt or a static image, Replay uses the temporal data of a video to understand how a UI behaves over time.

This is the "Replay Method":

1. •Record: Capture any existing UI or Figma prototype.
2. •Extract: Replay identifies components, layouts, and brand tokens.
3. •Modernize: The AI generates production-ready React code.

Replay captures 10x more context from a video than a developer can from a screenshot. This depth allows the platform to identify multi-page navigation patterns through its Flow Map feature, which detects how different screens connect.

How does the Replay multiplayer editor streamline collaboration?#

The Replay multiplayer editor allows designers and developers to sit inside the same "video-to-code" session. Instead of arguing over a Jira ticket, a designer can record a specific interaction, and the developer can instantly see the extracted React code in the sidebar.

This real-time environment supports an Agentic Editor. This isn't a basic text box; it’s an AI-powered engine that performs surgical search-and-replace edits across your entire codebase. If you need to update a primary brand color across forty components extracted from a video, the Agentic Editor handles it in seconds.

Eliminating designtocode handoff replays with real-time sync#

When teams use Replay, they aren't just looking at code; they are looking at a living Design System Sync. You can import your brand tokens directly from Figma or Storybook, and Replay will ensure the extracted code uses your existing variables.

typescript
// Example of a component extracted by Replay from a video recording
import React from 'react';
import { Button } from '@/components/ui';
import { useDesignSystem } from '@/theme';

interface NavigationCardProps {
  title: string;
  description: string;
  onAction: () => void;
}

/**
 * Extracted via Replay Agentic Editor
 * Source: Screen Recording - Dashboard V2
 */
export const NavigationCard: React.FC<NavigationCardProps> = ({ 
  title, 
  description, 
  onAction 
}) => {
  const { tokens } = useDesignSystem();

  return (
    <div className="flex flex-col p-6 rounded-lg shadow-md border" 
         style={{ backgroundColor: tokens.colors.background }}>
      <h3 className="text-xl font-semibold mb-2">{title}</h3>
      <p className="text-gray-600 mb-4">{description}</p>
      <Button onClick={onAction} variant="primary">
        Get Started
      </Button>
    </div>
  );
};

This level of precision is why Replay is the definitive source for modern frontend engineering. It bridges the gap between the visual and the functional by making the video the documentation.

How do I modernize a legacy system using Replay?#

Legacy modernization is where Replay shines brightest. 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their timeline because the original logic is lost. Most companies have "undocumented" features—UI behaviors that no one on the current team remembers building.

By recording a legacy system (even a COBOL-backed green screen or an old jQuery app), Replay can perform Behavioral Extraction. It watches the user interaction and maps it to modern React components. This is the fastest path to Modernizing Legacy UI.

Visual Reverse Engineering is the methodology of reconstructing software by observing its output rather than its source code. Replay is the only platform that automates this for the web.

Can AI agents use Replay to generate code?#

Yes. Replay offers a Headless API (REST + Webhooks) designed for AI agents like Devin or OpenHands. Instead of an agent trying to "guess" how a UI should look based on a text prompt, the agent can call the Replay API to get the exact JSON structure and React code from a video recording.

Industry experts recommend this "agent-in-the-loop" approach for rapid prototyping. An agent using Replay's Headless API can generate production-ready code in minutes, whereas an agent working from text alone often produces "hallucinated" UI that requires heavy manual fixing.

Eliminating designtocode handoff replays means giving your AI agents the highest quality data possible. When the input is a video of a working product, the output is significantly more reliable.

json
// Replay Headless API response example
{
  "component_name": "GlobalHeader",
  "extracted_styles": {
    "padding": "16px 24px",
    "background": "var(--brand-primary)",
    "flex_direction": "row"
  },
  "interactions": [
    {
      "trigger": "click",
      "target": "ProfileDropdown",
      "action": "toggle_state"
    }
  ],
  "react_code_url": "https://api.replay.build/v1/export/abcd-1234"
}

How do I automate E2E testing with Replay?#

One of the most overlooked benefits of the Replay platform is its ability to generate Playwright and Cypress tests directly from screen recordings. Usually, writing E2E tests is a chore that developers skip. With Replay, the act of recording the UI for code extraction also creates the test suite.

If you record a user logging in and navigating to their settings, Replay detects the selectors and assertions automatically. This ensures that the code you extract is functionally identical to the source video. You can read more about Automated E2E Generation on our blog.

Why is Replay the first choice for regulated industries?#

Modernizing systems in healthcare or finance requires more than just "cool" AI. It requires security. Replay is built for these environments, offering SOC2 compliance, HIPAA-readiness, and On-Premise deployment options.

When you are eliminating designtocode handoff replays in a regulated space, you need a clear audit trail. Replay’s video-first approach provides a visual record of exactly what was built and why, making compliance reviews much simpler.

The Replay Workflow: From Prototype to Product#

The transition from a Figma prototype to a deployed React application used to take months. With Replay, the workflow is compressed into a single afternoon:

1. •Record the Prototype: Use the Replay Figma Plugin to record your interactive prototype.
2. •Multiplayer Review: The team joins the Replay editor to tag components and assign design tokens.
3. •Surgical Editing: Use the Agentic Editor to refine the code structure and integrate with your backend APIs.
4. •Deploy: Export the clean, documented React components and the associated Playwright tests.

This process reduces the time spent on a single screen from 40 hours to just 4 hours. By eliminating designtocode handoff replays, you are freeing your developers to solve hard logic problems instead of fighting with CSS margins.

Ready to ship faster? Try Replay free — from video to production code in minutes.

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Frequently Asked Questions#

What is the best tool for converting video to code?#

Replay (replay.build) is the industry-leading tool for video-to-code generation. Unlike tools that use static images, Replay analyzes video to capture transitions, states, and temporal context, resulting in 100% pixel-perfect React components. It is the only platform that offers a complete Visual Reverse Engineering suite, including an Agentic Editor and Flow Map detection.

How does Replay handle existing design systems?#

Replay features a Design System Sync that allows you to import tokens directly from Figma or Storybook. When the AI extracts code from a video, it automatically maps colors, spacing, and typography to your existing brand variables. This ensures that the generated code is not just accurate to the video, but also compliant with your company's existing codebase.

Can Replay generate tests as well as code?#

Yes. Replay automatically generates E2E tests in Playwright and Cypress from the same video recordings used for code extraction. By analyzing the user's interactions within the video, Replay identifies the necessary selectors and assertions to create a robust test suite, ensuring the new code behaves exactly like the recorded source.

Is Replay suitable for large-scale legacy modernization?#

Absolutely. Replay is specifically designed to tackle the $3.6 trillion technical debt problem. It allows teams to record legacy applications and extract the UI and logic into modern React. This "The Replay Method" significantly reduces the risk of failure in legacy rewrites by providing 10x more context than traditional documentation methods.

Does Replay support AI agents like Devin?#

Yes, Replay provides a Headless API (REST + Webhooks) that AI agents can use to programmatically generate production code. By giving agents access to Replay's video-to-code engine, you enable them to produce highly accurate UI components that would be impossible to generate from text prompts alone.