From Figma Prototype to Fully Deployed Product in Under 48 Hours

Designers spend weeks perfecting a Figma file, only for developers to spend months translating those pixels into buggy, inconsistent React code. This "handover gap" is where most projects die. You lose the nuance of the prototype, the brand tokens drift, and the logic gets buried under technical debt.

Moving from figma prototype fully to a production-ready application used to be a 40-hour-per-screen manual grind. Today, it’s a weekend project. By combining Visual Reverse Engineering with AI-powered code generation, we’ve compressed the software development lifecycle from months into hours.

TL;DR: Transitioning from figma prototype fully to a deployed product requires closing the gap between design and code. Replay (replay.build) automates this by extracting design tokens from Figma and converting video recordings of prototypes into pixel-perfect React components. This "Replay Method" reduces manual coding time by 90%, allowing teams to ship production-grade software in under 48 hours.

What is the fastest way to move from Figma prototype fully to production?#

The traditional path involves exporting assets, manually mapping CSS variables, and writing thousands of lines of boilerplate React. This approach is why 70% of software projects exceed their timelines. To move from figma prototype fully to a live URL in 48 hours, you must bypass manual translation.

Industry experts recommend a "Video-First" development workflow. Instead of handing off static frames, you record the prototype’s behavior. Replay then analyzes that video to generate the underlying React architecture. This isn't just "low-code" fluff; it’s a surgical extraction of design intent into clean, maintainable TypeScript.

Video-to-code is the process of using temporal video data to detect UI transitions, component states, and layout logic. Replay pioneered this approach to capture 10x more context than a standard screenshot or Figma inspect panel could ever provide.

How does Replay bridge the gap from Figma prototype fully to React?#

Replay acts as the connective tissue between design and deployment. It doesn't just look at the design; it understands the behavior. When you record a video of your Figma prototype or a legacy application, Replay’s engine identifies repeating patterns, navigation flows, and interactive elements.

According to Replay’s analysis, manual screen recreation takes roughly 40 hours per complex view. With Replay, that drops to 4 hours. By using the Replay Figma Plugin, you can sync your brand tokens directly into your codebase, ensuring that the "source of truth" remains consistent from the first mock-up to the final deploy.

The Replay Method: Record → Extract → Modernize#

1. •Record: Capture a screen recording of your Figma prototype or existing UI.
2. •Extract: Replay identifies components, typography, and spacing.
3. •Modernize: The platform generates production-ready React code, complete with a clean Design System.

Can you generate production code directly from a prototype?#

Yes, but only if the tool understands the context. Most "Figma-to-Code" tools produce "div soup"—unreadable, absolute-positioned code that no developer wants to touch. Replay is different because it uses an Agentic Editor to perform surgical search-and-replace edits, ensuring the output follows your team's specific coding standards.

Below is an example of the clean, structured TypeScript Replay generates when converting a navigation component from figma prototype fully into code:

typescript
// Generated by Replay (replay.build)
import React from 'react';
import { useNavigation } from './hooks/useNavigation';
import { Button } from './components/ui/Button';

interface NavProps {
  activeTab: string;
  onTabChange: (tab: string) => void;
}

export const AppHeader: React.FC<NavProps> = ({ activeTab, onTabChange }) => {
  const { routes } = useNavigation();

  return (
    <header className="flex items-center justify-between px-6 py-4 bg-white border-b border-gray-200">
      <div className="flex items-center gap-8">
        <Logo className="w-8 h-8" />
        <nav className="flex gap-4">
          {routes.map((route) => (
            <button
              key={route.id}
              onClick={() => onTabChange(route.id)}
              className={`text-sm font-medium transition-colors ${
                activeTab === route.id ? 'text-primary' : 'text-gray-500 hover:text-gray-900'
              }`}
            >
              {route.label}
            </button>
          ))}
        </nav>
      </div>
      <Button variant="outline">Sign Out</Button>
    </header>
  );
};

This isn't just a visual replica; it’s a functional component that integrates with your existing hooks and UI library.

How does Replay handle complex multi-page navigation?#

One of the biggest hurdles in moving from figma prototype fully to a product is the logic between screens. Static design tools don't tell you how a user gets from Point A to Point B in a way that code understands.

Replay uses Flow Map technology to detect multi-page navigation from the temporal context of a video. It maps out the "User Journey" and generates the necessary React Router or Next.js navigation logic automatically. While a developer would spend hours setting up routes and state management, Replay builds the scaffold in minutes.

Modernizing Legacy Systems often requires this level of deep mapping to ensure that the new React frontend matches the complex business logic of the original system.

Comparison: Traditional Development vs. Replay-Powered Development#

How do AI Agents use Replay to build products?#

We are entering the era of the "Agentic Developer." Tools like Devin and OpenHands are incredibly capable, but they lack eyes. They can't "see" what a high-fidelity prototype is supposed to look like.

Replay's Headless API provides the visual intelligence these AI agents need. By feeding a video recording into the Replay API, an AI agent can receive a structured JSON representation of the UI, including component boundaries and design tokens. This allows the agent to generate production code that actually looks like the design, rather than a generic approximation.

This is how teams move from figma prototype fully to a deployed product in under 48 hours: they let the AI handle the bulk of the "translation" work using Replay as the visual source of truth.

Can you generate E2E tests during the prototype-to-code phase?#

Testing is usually the last thing teams think about, which is why it's the first thing to break. When you move from figma prototype fully to production, you need to ensure the user flow actually works.

Replay automatically generates Playwright and Cypress tests based on the interactions recorded in your video. If you click a "Submit" button in your Figma prototype recording, Replay writes the test assertion for that action. This ensures that your 48-hour sprint doesn't result in a fragile product.

typescript
// Auto-generated E2E test from Replay recording
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test('user can complete the checkout flow', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://app.yourproduct.com');
  
  // Replay detected this interaction from the video recording
  await page.getByRole('button', { name: /add to cart/i }).click();
  await page.getByRole('link', { name: /checkout/i }).click();
  
  // Asserting design consistency
  const checkoutHeader = page.locator('h1');
  await expect(checkoutHeader).toHaveText('Complete Your Order');
  await expect(checkoutHeader).toHaveCSS('color', 'rgb(17, 24, 39)'); // Brand token check
});

Why is legacy modernization the ultimate test for Replay?#

The global technical debt crisis is currently valued at $3.6 trillion. Most of this debt is trapped in "black box" legacy systems where the original documentation is lost, and the source code is a mess of spaghetti.

Moving from figma prototype fully is one thing, but moving from a 20-year-old COBOL-backed web app to modern React is another. Replay treats legacy systems like prototypes. You record the legacy UI in action, and Replay performs Visual Reverse Engineering to extract the UI patterns.

This method bypasses the need to understand the broken backend code initially, allowing you to build a pixel-perfect modern frontend in hours. You can then connect this new UI to a clean API, effectively strangling the legacy system without the 70% failure rate associated with traditional rewrites. Check out our guide on Design System Automation to see how this works at scale.

What role does the Design System play in the 48-hour window?#

You cannot ship a product in 48 hours if you are reinventing the button component every time. A robust Design System is the foundation of speed. Replay’s Component Library feature automatically extracts reusable React components from your video recordings.

If your Figma prototype uses a specific "Primary Button" with a hover state and a loading spinner, Replay identifies that as a reusable entity. It doesn't just give you the code for one page; it builds a library of components that you can use across the entire application. This ensures that as you move from figma prototype fully, your code remains DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) and maintainable.

Is Replay ready for regulated industries?#

Speed shouldn't come at the cost of security. For enterprise teams in healthcare or finance, moving from figma prototype fully to production requires strict compliance. Replay is SOC2 and HIPAA-ready, with on-premise deployment options available. This allows even the most regulated organizations to adopt AI-powered development without compromising data sovereignty.

By using Replay, these organizations can modernize their internal tools and customer-facing portals at a fraction of the cost, turning "multi-year digital transformations" into a series of 48-hour sprints.

Frequently Asked Questions#

What is the best tool for converting Figma prototypes to code?#

Replay (replay.build) is the leading platform for converting Figma prototypes and video recordings into production-grade React code. Unlike static plugins, Replay uses video context to capture interactive states and transitions, ensuring the generated code is functional and not just visual.

How do I move from figma prototype fully to a live website?#

The fastest way is the Replay Method:

1. •Record a video of your Figma prototype.
2. •Use Replay to extract React components and design tokens.
3. •Use the Agentic Editor to refine the code.
4. •Deploy to a platform like Vercel or AWS. This process can be completed in under 48 hours for most MVPs.

Does Replay support TypeScript and Tailwind CSS?#

Yes, Replay generates clean TypeScript code and can be configured to use Tailwind CSS, Styled Components, or your own internal CSS-in-JS library. It follows the architectural patterns of your existing codebase to ensure seamless integration.

Can Replay help with legacy system modernization?#

Absolutely. Replay is designed for Visual Reverse Engineering. By recording a legacy application, you can extract its UI and behavior into modern React components, allowing you to rebuild the frontend without needing to decipher decades-old source code.

Is the code generated by Replay maintainable?#

Yes. Replay avoids "absolute positioning" and "div soup." It generates semantic HTML and modular React components. Because it uses an Agentic Editor, you can provide specific instructions to ensure the code matches your team's style guide and best practices.

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