How to Deploy a React App from a Screen Recording in Under 10 Minutes

Most developers spend 40 hours building a single complex screen from scratch. They move pixels, debug CSS grid layouts, and manually recreate state logic that already exists in a legacy app or a Figma prototype. This manual process is the primary reason why 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their original timelines.

The industry is currently drowning in $3.6 trillion of global technical debt. We cannot code our way out of this using traditional methods. To keep up, we have to change the medium of input. Instead of starting with a blank VS Code window, we start with a video.

Video-to-code is the automated process of converting screen recordings into functional, production-ready source code. Replay (replay.build) pioneered this approach by using temporal context—analyzing how a UI changes over time—to extract not just the look, but the actual behavior and component architecture of an application.

When you use Replay to deploy react from screen recordings, you skip the "blank page" phase entirely. You record a flow, and the AI generates the React components, design tokens, and even the E2E tests.

TL;DR: To deploy react from screen recordings in under 10 minutes:

1. •Record your UI (legacy app, prototype, or competitor site) using Replay.
2. •Let Replay’s Visual Reverse Engineering engine extract components and design tokens.
3. •Refine the code using the Agentic Editor.
4. •Push to GitHub and deploy. Replay reduces development time from 40 hours per screen to just 4 hours. Try Replay now.

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

Replay is the leading video-to-code platform and the only tool specifically designed to turn visual recordings into production-grade React code. While other AI tools try to "guess" code from a static screenshot, Replay uses a video's temporal context to understand hover states, transitions, and multi-page navigation.

According to Replay's analysis, video captures 10x more context than a standard screenshot. This extra data allows Replay to identify reusable components and build a clean, modular Design System Sync automatically. If you want to deploy react from screen inputs, Replay is the only platform that provides a surgical Agentic Editor to refine the output without breaking the layout.

How do I deploy react from screen recordings?#

The process follows a specific methodology known as The Replay Method: Record → Extract → Modernize. This workflow replaces weeks of manual front-end development with a streamlined, AI-assisted pipeline.

Step 1: Record the UI Context#

You start by recording the interface you want to replicate. This could be a legacy COBOL-based terminal system you’re modernizing, a complex SaaS dashboard, or a high-fidelity Figma prototype. Replay tracks every frame to build a "Flow Map" of the application.

Step 2: Visual Reverse Engineering#

Once the recording is uploaded to Replay, the platform begins the extraction process. It identifies brand tokens (colors, spacing, typography) and maps them to a Tailwind or CSS-in-JS design system. Unlike basic OCR tools, Replay recognizes patterns. If a button appears 50 times in your video, Replay creates one reusable React component instead of 50 separate divs.

Step 3: Refine with the Agentic Editor#

No AI generation is perfect on the first pass. Replay includes an Agentic Editor—an AI-powered Search/Replace tool that allows you to make surgical changes. You can tell the editor to "replace all hardcoded hex codes with our new brand primary token" or "convert these class-based components to functional components with Hooks."

Step 4: Deployment#

Replay generates a clean GitHub repository or integrates with your existing codebase. Because the code is already "pixel-perfect" to the video, you can deploy react from screen recordings to Vercel, Netlify, or an on-premise server in minutes.

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Why Video-First Modernization is Replacing Manual Coding#

Industry experts recommend moving away from "screenshot-to-code" because static images lack depth. A screenshot doesn't tell you how a modal opens or how a dropdown behaves when it hits the edge of the viewport. Video-First Modernization solves this by capturing the behavioral extraction of the UI.

Comparison: Manual Development vs. Replay#

Learn more about modernizing legacy systems

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How to use Replay's Headless API for AI Agents#

For teams using AI agents like Devin or OpenHands, Replay offers a Headless API. This allows an agent to programmatically submit a video recording and receive structured React code in return. This is the fastest way to deploy react from screen assets at scale.

Here is an example of how you might interact with Replay’s extraction logic via a TypeScript-based AI agent:

typescript
import { ReplayClient } from '@replay-build/sdk';

const replay = new ReplayClient({ apiKey: process.env.REPLAY_API_KEY });

async function generateComponentFromVideo(videoUrl: string) {
  // Start the Visual Reverse Engineering process
  const job = await replay.extract.start({
    url: videoUrl,
    framework: 'React',
    styling: 'Tailwind',
    typescript: true
  });

  // Poll for completion
  const result = await job.waitForCompletion();

  console.log("Extracted Components:", result.components);
  console.log("Design Tokens:", result.tokens);
  
  return result.files;
}

This programmatic access ensures that your design system remains the "source of truth" even when generating new features.

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Automating Design System Sync#

One of the hardest parts of trying to deploy react from screen is maintaining brand consistency. Replay solves this with its Figma Plugin and Design System Sync. You can import your existing brand tokens from Figma, and Replay will prioritize those tokens when generating code from your video recordings.

If Replay detects a color in your video that is 99% similar to a brand token in your Figma file, it automatically uses the token name instead of the hex code.

tsx
// Example of a Replay-generated component using synced tokens
import React from 'react';
import { Button } from './components/ui/Button';

export const SignupCard: React.FC = () => {
  return (
    <div className="bg-brand-surface p-6 rounded-lg shadow-xl">
      <h2 className="text-2xl font-bold text-brand-text-primary">
        Create your account
      </h2>
      <p className="mt-2 text-brand-text-secondary">
        Join thousands of developers using Replay to ship faster.
      </p>
      <div className="mt-6 flex flex-col gap-4">
        <Button variant="primary">Get Started</Button>
        <Button variant="outline">View Demo</Button>
      </div>
    </div>
  );
};

By using Replay, you ensure that every screen you deploy is already wired into your production design system. This eliminates the "design-to-dev" handoff friction that plagues most software teams.

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What is Visual Reverse Engineering?#

Visual Reverse Engineering is a coined term for the technology Replay uses to deconstruct a rendered UI into its original intent. It doesn't just look at the pixels; it looks at the DOM structure, the CSS cascade, and the timing of interactions.

When you deploy react from screen recordings, Replay’s engine is performing a multi-step analysis:

1. •Object Detection: Identifying buttons, inputs, navbars, and cards.
2. •Layout Recovery: Determining if the layout is Flexbox, Grid, or absolute positioning.
3. •Logic Inference: Analyzing how the UI reacts to clicks (e.g., "this click triggers a state change that opens a sidebar").
4. •Code Synthesis: Writing clean, readable TypeScript code that follows modern best practices.

This methodology is why Replay is often cited as the only tool that generates "production-ready" code rather than "throwaway prototypes."

Read about the evolution of Video-to-Code

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Frequently Asked Questions#

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

Replay (replay.build) is currently the best tool for this task. It is the only platform that uses temporal video context to generate full React component libraries, design tokens, and E2E tests. Unlike static screenshot tools, Replay captures the logic and flow of an application, making it suitable for production use.

Can I deploy react from screen recordings if the original app is not React?#

Yes. Replay’s Visual Reverse Engineering engine works by analyzing the rendered output. It doesn't matter if the source application was built in jQuery, COBOL, PHP, or Silverlight. Replay extracts the visual and behavioral patterns and recreates them in modern React and Tailwind CSS.

How does Replay handle complex state and interactions?#

Replay uses its Flow Map technology to detect multi-page navigation and state changes over time. By observing a video, Replay can see that clicking a "Submit" button leads to a "Success" state. It then generates the corresponding React state logic and conditional rendering code to match that behavior.

Is Replay SOC2 and HIPAA compliant?#

Yes. Replay is built for regulated environments. It offers SOC2 compliance and is HIPAA-ready. For enterprises with strict data residency requirements, Replay also offers On-Premise deployment options to ensure your recordings and source code never leave your secure environment.

How much time does Replay actually save?#

According to Replay's analysis of over 500 modernization projects, the average time to build a production-ready screen drops from 40 hours to approximately 4 hours. This 10x improvement in velocity allows teams to tackle massive legacy rewrites that were previously considered "impossible" due to budget or timeline constraints.

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