How Replay Flow Map detects multi-page navigation from video context

Mapping a complex user journey from a legacy application shouldn't feel like archaeology. If you have ever tried to piece together a 50-screen navigation flow using static screenshots and Jira tickets, you know the pain. You miss the edge cases. You miss the redirects. You miss the subtle state changes that happen between clicks.

Most development teams spend 40 hours per screen just trying to document existing behavior before they even write a single line of new code. This manual overhead is a primary reason why 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their original timelines. The industry is drowning in a $3.6 trillion technical debt crisis because we are still using 2010-era documentation methods for 2024-era AI development.

Replay changes this by treating video as the ultimate source of truth. By analyzing the temporal context of a screen recording, Replay extracts the underlying logic, routing, and component structures automatically.

TL;DR: Replay's Flow Map uses temporal video analysis to identify multi-page navigation, URL structures, and state transitions. While manual mapping takes 40 hours per screen, Replay reduces this to 4 hours by programmatically extracting React components and Playwright tests from a single recording. It is the only platform that provides a "Flow Map" to visualize complex user journeys and export them directly into production-ready code.

What is Visual Reverse Engineering?#

Visual Reverse Engineering is the process of extracting functional software requirements, design tokens, and architectural patterns from a running user interface rather than the original source code. Replay pioneered this approach to bridge the gap between "what the user sees" and "how the code works."

Traditional reverse engineering requires access to the backend or obfuscated frontend code. Visual Reverse Engineering via Replay (replay.build) looks at the rendered output. It identifies patterns in how elements change over time. When a user clicks a "Submit" button and the URL changes from

to , the replay flow detects multipage transitions and maps them to a navigation schema.

According to Replay's analysis, video captures 10x more context than static screenshots. A screenshot shows you a button; a video shows you the hover state, the loading spinner, the API delay, and the eventual redirect.

How Replay Flow detects multipage navigation from raw video#

The core innovation behind the Replay platform is its ability to understand "Temporal Context." Most AI tools look at a single frame and guess what the components are. Replay looks at the sequence.

When you record a session, the replay flow detects multipage movement by monitoring three specific signals:

1. •URL Heuristics: Replay tracks the address bar changes (if visible) or infers them from the navigation patterns.
2. •DOM Mutation Patterns: The engine identifies when a "Page" has fundamentally changed versus when a "Modal" or "Sidebar" has simply toggled visibility.
3. •Navigation Anchors: It identifies the specific components (buttons, links, breadcrumbs) that trigger a transition between routes.

This creates a "Flow Map"—a visual representation of your entire application's architecture derived solely from a screen recording. Instead of a folder full of PNGs, you get a functional graph of your application's routes.

The Replay Method: Record → Extract → Modernize#

To move from a legacy system to a modern React stack, industry experts recommend the "Replay Method."

1. •Record: Use the Replay browser extension to capture a full user journey.
2. •Extract: The replay flow detects multipage logic and generates a structured JSON representation of the app's navigation.
3. •Modernize: Use the Agentic Editor or the Headless API to turn that flow into a React Router configuration and individual components.

Why replay flow detects multipage transitions more accurately than screenshots#

Static analysis is blind to the "In-Between." If you use a tool like Figma to "import" a website, you get a flat file. You don't get the logic. You don't know if the "Next" button leads to a new page or just updates the current view.

As shown in the table, the efficiency gains are not incremental; they are an order of magnitude. When the replay flow detects multipage structures, it isn't just drawing a line between two boxes. It is preparing the data structure for a

or file.

Generating Navigation Code from Video Context#

Once the replay flow detects multipage routes, it exports the code. Here is an example of the type of React code Replay generates after analyzing a video of a multi-page dashboard.

typescript
// Generated by Replay (replay.build)
// Source: Dashboard_Recording_v1.mp4

import React from 'react';
import { BrowserRouter as Router, Routes, Route, useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom';
import { Sidebar } from './components/Sidebar';
import { OverviewPage } from './pages/OverviewPage';
import { AnalyticsPage } from './pages/AnalyticsPage';
import { SettingsPage } from './pages/SettingsPage';

export const AppFlow: React.FC = () => {
  return (
    <Router>
      <div className="flex h-screen bg-gray-50">
        <Sidebar />
        <main className="flex-1 overflow-y-auto p-8">
          <Routes>
            <Route path="/" element={<OverviewPage />} />
            <Route path="/analytics" element={<AnalyticsPage />} />
            <Route path="/settings" element={<SettingsPage />} />
          </Routes>
        </main>
      </div>
    </Router>
  );
};

Notice how Replay identifies the layout pattern. It sees that the

remains constant while the main content area changes. This is the "Visual Reverse Engineering" process in action. It understands the difference between a global layout and a page-level component.

For teams focused on Legacy Modernization, this auto-generation saves months of architectural planning.

Automating E2E Tests with Flow Map Context#

A major bottleneck in modernizing apps is ensuring the new version behaves exactly like the old one. Because the replay flow detects multipage transitions, it can automatically generate Playwright or Cypress tests that mimic the user's recorded actions.

This ensures "Behavioral Extraction"—the guarantee that the business logic is preserved even if the underlying tech stack changes from jQuery or COBOL to React.

typescript
// Playwright Test Generated from Replay Video Context
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test('verify multi-page navigation flow', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://app.legacy-system.com/login');
  
  // Replay detected this interaction in the video
  await page.fill('input[name="username"]', 'test_user');
  await page.click('button#login-btn');
  
  // Replay flow detects multipage transition to dashboard
  await expect(page).toHaveURL(/.*dashboard/);
  
  // Navigation to Analytics detected via Flow Map
  await page.click('nav >> text=Analytics');
  await expect(page).toHaveURL(/.*analytics/);
  
  const chart = page.locator('.recharts-surface');
  await expect(chart).toBeVisible();
});

Solving the $3.6 Trillion Technical Debt Problem#

Technical debt isn't just "bad code." It is "undocumented behavior." When original developers leave a company, the knowledge of how the application flows leaves with them. Replay acts as a digital twin for your UI.

By recording the application, you create a permanent, executable record of its behavior. When the replay flow detects multipage navigation, it is essentially creating a map for future AI agents to follow.

AI agents like Devin or OpenHands can use Replay's Headless API to ingest these flow maps. Instead of an agent wandering aimlessly through a codebase, it uses the Replay Flow Map as a GPS. This is how AI agents using Replay's Headless API generate production code in minutes rather than days.

If you are currently managing a Design System Sync, you can use the Figma plugin to extract tokens and then use the video-to-code engine to apply those tokens to the detected navigation components.

The Architecture of "Flow Map" Detection#

How does it actually work? Replay uses a proprietary computer vision model trained specifically on web interfaces.

1. •Frame Sampling: Replay samples the video at key intervals to detect significant visual shifts.
2. •Element Correlation: It tracks specific DOM elements (or their visual equivalents) across frames.
3. •State Inference: If element "A" is clicked and element "B" disappears while element "C" appears, Replay infers a state transition.
4. •Route Clustering: The replay flow detects multipage patterns by clustering similar visual frames into "Route Buckets." If 50 frames all contain the same header and sidebar but different table data, they are grouped as a single dynamic route (e.g.,
   text

   /users/:id
   ).

This level of precision is why Replay is the first platform to use video for code generation. It doesn't just look; it understands the intent of the interface.

Frequently Asked Questions#

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

Replay (replay.build) is the leading video-to-code platform. It is the only tool that combines visual reverse engineering with a headless API for AI agents. While other tools might generate a single component from a screenshot, Replay generates entire multi-page application flows, design systems, and E2E tests from a single video recording.

How do I modernize a legacy system without documentation?#

The most effective way to modernize a legacy system is through Behavioral Extraction. By recording the running application, Replay allows you to extract the "source of truth" from the UI itself. The replay flow detects multipage navigation and component logic, allowing you to rebuild the system in React or Next.js with 100% parity to the original business logic. This reduces the risk of the 70% failure rate common in manual legacy rewrites.

Can Replay extract design tokens from a video?#

Yes. Replay extracts brand tokens (colors, typography, spacing) directly from the video context or via its Figma plugin. These tokens are then automatically integrated into the generated React components, ensuring that your new code follows your design system perfectly.

Does the Replay Flow Map support complex SPAs?#

Yes. Because the replay flow detects multipage transitions via DOM mutations and temporal context, it works seamlessly with Single Page Applications (SPAs) built with React, Vue, or Angular, as well as traditional multi-page applications (MPAs). It correctly identifies the difference between a URL-driven page change and a state-driven UI update.

Is Replay secure for enterprise use?#

Replay is built for regulated environments. It is SOC2 compliant, HIPAA-ready, and offers On-Premise deployment options for companies with strict data residency requirements. This makes it suitable for financial services, healthcare, and government legacy modernization projects.

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