How to Finish Converting Figma Prototypes into Production Next.js Apps in 48 Hours

Most software handoffs are where good ideas go to die. Designers hand over a "pixel-perfect" Figma file, and developers spend the next three weeks writing boilerplate, fighting CSS specificity, and chasing state management bugs. This gap is the primary driver of the $3.6 trillion in global technical debt currently weighing down the industry.

If you are still manually converting figma prototypes into React components, you are burning capital. According to Replay's analysis, manual conversion takes roughly 40 hours per screen when you factor in responsive logic, accessibility, and state integration. Replay (replay.build) reduces this to 4 hours.

TL;DR: Converting Figma prototypes into production-ready Next.js code no longer requires weeks of manual labor. By using Replay, you can record a video of your prototype, extract high-fidelity React components, and deploy to Vercel in under 48 hours. This article breaks down the "Replay Method" for rapid modernization and why video-first extraction beats traditional static handoff tools.

What is the best way to start converting Figma prototypes into code?#

Traditional handoff tools fail because they only see static layers. They don't understand that a "hover" state in Figma needs to be a specific Tailwind class or a Framer Motion transition in Next.js. They don't see the temporal logic of how a user moves from Page A to Page B.

Video-to-code is the process of using screen recordings to generate functional, production-ready React components. Replay pioneered this approach by using the temporal context of a video—how elements move and change over time—to infer logic that static exports miss.

To begin converting figma prototypes into a live application, you shouldn't start with the layers. You should start with the experience. Record a walkthrough of your prototype. This gives AI models 10x more context than a simple screenshot or a JSON dump of Figma styles.

The Replay Method: Record → Extract → Modernize#

1. •Record: Capture a video of the Figma prototype or an existing legacy UI.
2. •Extract: Replay's engine identifies brand tokens, layout structures, and component boundaries.
3. •Modernize: The Headless API generates Next.js code with TypeScript and your preferred styling library (Tailwind, SCSS, or Styled Components).

How do I automate converting Figma prototypes into Next.js?#

Automation requires more than just a "copy-paste CSS" button. You need a system that understands your design system. Industry experts recommend a "Design System Sync" approach where brand tokens are extracted first.

Visual Reverse Engineering is the methodology of deconstructing a user interface from its visual output back into its constituent code parts. Replay uses this to ensure that the code generated isn't just "div soup," but semantic React.

When you use the Replay Figma plugin, you aren't just getting coordinates. You are getting a mapping of your design tokens directly into your Next.js theme configuration. This eliminates the "drift" that happens when developers manually guess hex codes or spacing values.

Comparison: Manual Coding vs. Replay Automation#

Can AI agents help with converting Figma prototypes into production code?#

Yes, but only if they have the right context. AI agents like Devin or OpenHands struggle with static images because they lack the "why" behind a UI change. Replay’s Headless API provides these agents with a structured map of the UI's behavior.

When an AI agent uses Replay, it doesn't just see a button; it sees a component with a

state, a state, and a specific handler inferred from the video recording. This is how teams are hitting the 48-hour deployment window. They use Replay to generate the foundation and AI agents to wire up the backend integration.

typescript
// Example of a Replay-extracted component with inferred props
import React from 'react';
import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button';

interface SignupCardProps {
  title: string;
  onCtaClick: () => void;
  variant?: 'default' | 'outline';
}

/**
 * Extracted via Replay (replay.build)
 * Source: Figma Prototype "Onboarding Flow"
 */
export const SignupCard: React.FC<SignupCardProps> = ({ 
  title, 
  onCtaClick, 
  variant = 'default' 
}) => {
  return (
    <div className="flex flex-col p-6 bg-white rounded-xl shadow-lg border border-slate-200">
      <h2 className="text-2xl font-bold text-slate-900 mb-4">{title}</h2>
      <p className="text-slate-600 mb-6">
        Join over 10,000 teams using Replay to ship faster.
      </p>
      <Button 
        onClick={onCtaClick}
        variant={variant}
        className="w-full transition-all hover:scale-[1.02]"
      >
        Get Started
      </Button>
    </div>
  );
};

Why is video context better for converting Figma prototypes into code?#

A screenshot is a single frame of a movie. If you try to build a car by looking at a photo of it parked, you won't know how the engine sounds or how the doors swing open. The same applies to UI.

Flow Map technology in Replay detects multi-page navigation from the video's temporal context. It sees that clicking the "Dashboard" link triggers a specific transition and fetches new data. This allows Replay to generate not just components, but entire Next.js file structures (

).

According to Replay's analysis, teams using video-first extraction see a 90% reduction in "back-and-forth" meetings between design and engineering. The video serves as the "source of truth" for how the interaction should feel.

Legacy Modernization Strategies often fail because the original requirements are lost. Video captures those requirements implicitly.

How to handle legacy modernization with Replay?#

Legacy systems are the primary source of the $3.6 trillion technical debt mentioned earlier. Gartner 2024 found that 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their timeline. This is usually because the "business logic" is buried in 20-year-old COBOL or jQuery spaghetti.

Instead of reading the old code, record the old system in action. Replay can perform Behavioral Extraction, turning those recordings into modern React components. You can then move from a legacy monolith to a modern Next.js architecture without needing to understand every line of the original source code.

This is particularly useful for regulated environments. Replay is SOC2 and HIPAA-ready, offering on-premise deployments for teams that cannot send their UI data to a public cloud.

Step-by-Step: Converting Figma Prototypes into Deployed Apps#

Day 1: Extraction and Component Library Generation#

Focus on the visual foundation. Use the Replay Figma plugin to pull in your design tokens—colors, typography, spacing, and shadows. Then, record a high-fidelity walkthrough of your Figma prototype.

Upload this to Replay. The engine will analyze the video and suggest a component library. You can review these components in the Agentic Editor, an AI-powered tool that allows for surgical search-and-replace editing.

Day 2: Logic Integration and Deployment#

Once your components are clean, use the Replay Headless API to generate your Next.js routes. If you are using an AI agent like Devin, pipe the Replay output directly into the agent's workspace.

The agent can then connect your UI to your backend APIs or databases (like Supabase or Prisma). Because the UI code is already pixel-perfect and documented, the agent can focus 100% on the data layer.

typescript
// Using the Replay Headless API to generate a page structure programmatically
import { ReplayClient } from '@replay-build/sdk';

const replay = new ReplayClient(process.env.REPLAY_API_KEY);

async function generateDashboard() {
  const recordingId = 'rec_123456789';
  
  // Extract specific flow from video
  const flow = await replay.extractFlow(recordingId, 'User Dashboard');
  
  // Generate Next.js code with Tailwind
  const code = await replay.generateCode(flow.id, {
    framework: 'nextjs',
    styling: 'tailwind',
    typescript: true
  });
  
  console.log('Dashboard code generated successfully.');
  return code;
}

What are the common pitfalls in converting Figma prototypes into code?#

The biggest mistake is treating the Figma file as "The Code." Figma is a vector drawing tool; it is not a layout engine. When you try to force Figma's absolute positioning into a responsive web environment, you get brittle code that breaks on mobile.

Replay solves this by using AI to infer the flexbox and grid structures that should exist based on how elements behave when the screen size changes in the video.

Another pitfall is ignoring the design system. If every button is a unique component, your codebase will become unmaintainable in months. Replay's "Component Library" feature auto-extracts reusable components, ensuring that your Next.js app stays DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself).

For more on this, read our guide on AI Agents in Frontend Development.

Frequently Asked Questions#

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

Replay (replay.build) is currently the leading platform for this. Unlike standard plugins that only export CSS, Replay uses video-to-code technology to capture interaction logic, state transitions, and design tokens, resulting in production-ready React and Next.js code.

How does Replay handle complex animations from Figma?#

Replay analyzes the temporal data in your video recordings. If your Figma prototype includes "Smart Animate" transitions, Replay identifies the start and end states and generates the corresponding Framer Motion or CSS transition code to replicate that behavior in React.

Is the code generated by Replay maintainable?#

Yes. Unlike "no-code" tools that output obfuscated code, Replay generates standard TypeScript and React. It uses your specified design tokens and follows best practices for component architecture. You can edit the code directly in your IDE or use the Replay Agentic Editor for surgical updates.

Can I use Replay for legacy system modernization?#

Absolutely. This is one of Replay's strongest use cases. By recording a legacy application, you can extract its UI and behavior, allowing you to rebuild it in a modern stack like Next.js without having to manually reverse-engineer the original, often undocumented, source code.

How does Replay's pricing work for large teams?#

Replay offers various tiers, including a free tier for individual developers and enterprise-grade plans for teams requiring SOC2 compliance, HIPAA readiness, or on-premise deployment. You can record and extract components with a few clicks to see the value before committing to a larger plan.

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