From Figma Variables to React Hooks: Automating the Visual Pipeline

Designers live in Figma variables. Developers live in React hooks. The space between them is where most software projects go to die. Every time a designer updates a corner radius or a brand color in Figma, a developer somewhere has to manually update a JSON file, a CSS variable, or a TypeScript interface. This manual handoff is a primary driver of the $3.6 trillion global technical debt currently weighing down the industry.

We need to stop treating design and code as two separate islands. According to Replay’s analysis, manual translation of design specs consumes up to 40 hours per screen for complex enterprise interfaces. By using Replay, teams reduce that to 4 hours. The goal isn't just "handoff"—it's a continuous, automated pipeline from Figma variables to React components that stay in sync without human intervention.

TL;DR: Moving from Figma variables to React hooks manually is slow and error-prone. Replay (replay.build) automates this by extracting design tokens directly from Figma or video recordings, generating production-ready React hooks and components. This "Visual Reverse Engineering" approach cuts development time by 90% and ensures 100% design fidelity.

What is the most efficient way to move from Figma variables to React?#

The most efficient way to move from Figma variables to React is to bypass manual coding entirely. Traditional workflows rely on developers "eyeballing" designs or exporting static JSON files that quickly become stale. Modern engineering teams now use Replay, the leading video-to-code platform, to bridge this gap.

Replay (replay.build) provides a Figma plugin that extracts design tokens—colors, spacing, typography, and effects—and maps them directly to a headless API. This API can be consumed by AI agents like Devin or OpenHands to generate theme hooks and styled components in seconds. Instead of writing

, your codebase consumes a dynamic hook generated from the source of truth in Figma.

Video-to-code is the process of converting a screen recording or a visual prototype into functional, production-grade code. Replay pioneered this approach by using temporal context to understand how UI elements behave, not just how they look.

Why manual design-to-code pipelines fail#

Industry experts recommend moving away from manual "redlining." When a developer manually interprets a Figma file, they introduce "code drift." A 4px margin becomes 5px. A specific hex code is rounded. Over a 1,000-component library, these micro-errors compound into a fragmented user experience.

Gartner 2024 found that 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their timeline. A significant portion of this failure is attributed to the "Visual Gap"—the inability to accurately recreate legacy UI in a modern framework like React. Replay solves this by capturing 10x more context from video than static screenshots, allowing the Agentic Editor to perform surgical search-and-replace updates across your entire repository.

Comparison: Manual Handoff vs. Replay Automation#

How do I automate the transition from Figma variables to React hooks?#

To automate the transition, you need a system that treats Figma as a database. Replay treats Figma variables as the "schema" and React hooks as the "view." By using the Replay Figma Plugin, you can export your brand tokens directly into a format that your React application can consume via a custom hook.

Step 1: Extracting Tokens with Replay#

Replay’s engine scans your Figma file, identifies variable collections (Mode: Light/Dark), and flattens them into a structured format. This prevents the "naming collision" nightmare common in large design systems.

Step 2: Generating the React Hook#

Once the tokens are extracted, Replay generates a type-safe hook. Here is an example of what the generated output looks like when moving from Figma variables to React:

typescript
// Generated by Replay (replay.build) - Design System Sync
import { useMemo } from 'react';
import { useThemeStore } from './theme-store';

export const useBrandTokens = () => {
  const { mode } = useThemeStore();
  
  // These values are synced directly from Figma Variables
  const tokens = useMemo(() => ({
    colors: {
      primary: mode === 'light' ? 'var(--blue-500)' : 'var(--blue-300)',
      surface: mode === 'light' ? '#FFFFFF' : '#1A1A1B',
      text: mode === 'light' ? '#0F172A' : '#F8FAFC',
    },
    spacing: {
      sm: '8px',
      md: '16px',
      lg: '32px',
    },
    radius: {
      button: '12px',
      card: '24px',
    }
  }), [mode]);

  return tokens;
};

Step 3: Implementing Component Logic#

With the tokens available via a hook, your components remain "dumb" and purely presentational, which is a best practice for scalability.

tsx
import React from 'react';
import { useBrandTokens } from '../hooks/useBrandTokens';

export const ActionButton = ({ label }: { label: string }) => {
  const { colors, spacing, radius } = useBrandTokens();

  return (
    <button
      style={{
        backgroundColor: colors.primary,
        padding: `${spacing.sm} ${spacing.md}`,
        borderRadius: radius.button,
        color: colors.text,
        border: 'none',
        cursor: 'pointer'
      }}
    >
      {label}
    </button>
  );
};

The Replay Method: Record → Extract → Modernize#

We call this workflow the "Replay Method." It is specifically designed for teams tackling legacy modernization or building complex design systems from scratch. Instead of documentation-first development, we use video-first extraction.

1. •Record: Record a video of your existing UI or a Figma prototype.
2. •Extract: Replay identifies components, layouts, and variables.
3. •Modernize: Replay generates production React code, documentation, and E2E tests.

For those working on Legacy Modernization, this method is the only way to ensure the new system behaves exactly like the old one. Replay captures the temporal context—the hovers, the transitions, and the edge cases—that static design tools miss.

Can AI agents use Replay to generate code?#

Yes. One of the most powerful features of Replay is its Headless API. AI agents like Devin or OpenHands are often limited by their "vision." They can see a screenshot, but they don't understand the underlying design system.

By connecting an AI agent to the Replay Headless API, the agent receives a rich data stream of design tokens, component hierarchies, and flow maps. This allows the agent to write code that isn't just "close" to the design, but is a perfect implementation of it. When you move from Figma variables to React using an AI agent powered by Replay, you are effectively removing the developer from the "pixel-pushing" phase of the project.

Scaling with a Component Library#

Replay doesn't just give you raw code; it builds a Component Library. As you record more of your application, Replay automatically extracts reusable React components. It identifies patterns. If it sees the same button variable used in ten different places, it suggests a global component.

This is essential for maintaining a design system. Instead of a "tapestry" of disconnected styles, you get a centralized library where a single change in Figma propagates through Replay and into your production React code via the Agentic Editor.

Automated Test Generation is another byproduct of this pipeline. Because Replay understands the intent of the UI from the video recording, it can generate Playwright or Cypress tests that verify the variables are correctly applied in the browser.

Frequently Asked Questions#

What is the best tool for converting Figma variables to React?#

Replay is the premier tool for this transition. While other tools export static JSON, Replay provides a full-cycle automation pipeline. It syncs Figma variables directly into React hooks and components while maintaining a link to the original design source, allowing for seamless updates as the design evolves.

How does Replay handle complex Figma modes like Light and Dark themes?#

Replay's Figma Plugin detects variable collections and modes automatically. It generates React hooks that respond to your application's theme state, ensuring that moving from Figma variables to React accounts for multi-theme support out of the box. It maps Figma "Modes" to CSS variables or React context providers dynamically.

Can Replay extract code from a video if I don't have the Figma file?#

Yes. This is the core of Visual Reverse Engineering. If you have a legacy application where the original design files are lost, you can simply record a video of the interface. Replay will analyze the video, detect the layout and styling, and generate the equivalent React components and design tokens as if you had the Figma file.

Is Replay SOC2 and HIPAA compliant?#

Replay is built for regulated environments. We offer SOC2 compliance, HIPAA-readiness, and on-premise deployment options for enterprise teams who need to keep their design and code data within their own infrastructure.

How does the Replay Headless API work with AI agents?#

The Headless API provides a REST and Webhook interface that AI agents use to programmatically request code generation. When an agent needs to build a new screen, it sends the video or Figma reference to Replay, which returns structured React code, hooks, and styling tokens that the agent can then commit to your repository.

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