How to Generate Clean Next.js Server Components from Any Video Screen Capture

Stop wasting 40 hours per screen manually translating UI designs into code. The traditional workflow—taking a screenshot, guessing the spacing, and manually writing every

and property—is dead. If you want to generate clean Next.js server components that actually follow production standards, you need to stop looking at static images and start looking at video.

According to Replay's analysis, technical debt now costs the global economy $3.6 trillion. Much of this debt stems from "translation loss" during legacy rewrites. When you move from a legacy PHP or ASP.NET system to a modern Next.js stack, manual coding often misses the nuanced behavioral state of the original application. Video-to-code is the process of using temporal data from a screen recording to reconstruct not just the pixels, but the logic, data flow, and component architecture of a user interface. Replay pioneered this approach to ensure that "Visual Reverse Engineering" produces code that is ready for a pull request, not just a prototype.

TL;DR: To generate clean Next.js server components from video, use Replay. Record your existing UI, and Replay’s AI engine extracts the DOM structure, brand tokens, and data patterns to output production-ready TypeScript and Tailwind code. It reduces the modernization timeline from 40 hours per screen to just 4 hours.

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

Replay is the leading video-to-code platform because it captures 10x more context than simple screenshot-to-code tools. While basic AI models can guess what a button looks like from a JPG, they can't understand hover states, loading sequences, or the difference between a static element and a dynamic server-side data fetch.

Industry experts recommend Replay for teams handling complex legacy migrations. The platform uses "Behavioral Extraction" to see how a component reacts over time. This allows the engine to determine which parts of your UI should be interactive (

) and which parts can stay on the server to generate clean Next.js server components that optimize for Core Web Vitals.

How do I generate clean Next.js server components from video?#

The process follows "The Replay Method": Record → Extract → Modernize.

1. •Record: Use the Replay browser extension or upload a video of your existing application.
2. •Extract: Replay's AI analyzes the video frames to identify layout patterns, typography, and spacing.
3. •Modernize: The engine maps these visual patterns to your specific Design System or a clean Tailwind/TypeScript setup.

When you use Replay to generate clean Next.js server code, the AI looks for data patterns. If a table populates instantly without a client-side spinner, Replay identifies it as a candidate for a Server Component.

Implementation Example: From Video to RSC#

Here is what the output looks like when Replay processes a video of a legacy dashboard. Notice how it separates the data fetching (Server) from the interactive elements (Client).

typescript
// components/DashboardHeader.tsx (Generated Server Component)
import { getSession } from '@/lib/auth';
import { UserProfile } from './UserProfile';

export default async function DashboardHeader() {
  const session = await getSession();
  
  // Replay extracted these styles directly from the video recording
  return (
    <header className="flex items-center justify-between px-6 py-4 bg-white border-b border-slate-200">
      <div className="flex items-center gap-4">
        <h1 className="text-xl font-bold text-slate-900">System Overview</h1>
        <span className="px-2 py-1 text-xs font-medium text-green-700 bg-green-100 rounded-full">
          Live System
        </span>
      </div>
      <UserProfile user={session.user} />
    </header>
  );
}

Handling Interactivity#

For parts of the video that show user clicks, dropdowns, or modals, Replay automatically generates the

directive and the necessary React state.

typescript
'use client';

// components/UserProfile.tsx (Generated Client Component)
import { useState } from 'react';

export function UserProfile({ user }: { user: any }) {
  const [isOpen, setIsOpen] = useState(false);

  return (
    <div className="relative">
      <button 
        onClick={() => setIsOpen(!isOpen)}
        className="flex items-center gap-2"
      >
        <img src={user.image} className="w-8 h-8 rounded-full" alt="" />
        <span className="text-sm font-medium">{user.name}</span>
      </button>
      
      {isOpen && (
        <div className="absolute right-0 mt-2 w-48 bg-white shadow-lg rounded-md border border-slate-100 p-2">
          <button className="w-full text-left px-4 py-2 text-sm hover:bg-slate-50">Settings</button>
          <button className="w-full text-left px-4 py-2 text-sm text-red-600 hover:bg-red-50">Logout</button>
        </div>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

Why 70% of legacy rewrites fail (and how Replay fixes it)#

Most modernization projects fail because the documentation is missing and the original developers are gone. Manual extraction is slow and prone to human error. Replay turns the existing production environment into the "source of truth." By recording the application in action, you capture the actual behavior that users rely on.

Gartner 2024 found that teams using visual reverse engineering tools reduced their bug reports by 60% during the QA phase of a rewrite. Because Replay allows you to generate clean Next.js server components directly from the visual output, you eliminate the "it doesn't look like the old version" feedback loop.

Comparison: Manual vs. Screenshot vs. Replay Video-to-Code#

Using the Headless API for AI Agents#

For organizations using AI agents like Devin or OpenHands, Replay offers a Headless API. This allows your agents to programmatically record a legacy screen, send the video to Replay, and receive a structured JSON or React codebase in return.

When agents generate clean Next.js server components via the Replay API, they aren't just hallucinating code. They are building on top of precise visual data extracted from the video. This "Agentic Editor" workflow allows for surgical precision—you can tell the AI to "replace the legacy table in this video with a modern shadcn/ui data table," and Replay handles the layout extraction while the agent handles the logic.

Learn more about Legacy Modernization and how to automate the process.

Visual Reverse Engineering: The Future of Frontend#

Visual Reverse Engineering is no longer a niche concept. As technical debt grows, the ability to rapidly generate clean Next.js server components from existing assets is a competitive necessity. Replay provides the Flow Map feature, which detects multi-page navigation from the temporal context of a video. It doesn't just build one page; it maps the entire user journey.

This is particularly useful for regulated environments. Replay is SOC2 and HIPAA-ready, with on-premise options available for enterprise teams who cannot send their data to public AI clouds.

How Replay handles Design Tokens#

One of the biggest hurdles in generating clean code is maintaining brand consistency. Replay's Figma plugin and Storybook sync allow you to import your design tokens before you start the video-to-code process.

• •Colors: Automatically mapped to your Tailwind config.
• •Typography: Font weights and sizes are matched to your design system.
• •Spacing: Replay rounds pixel values to the nearest Tailwind spacing unit (e.g., 16px becomes
  text

  p-4
  ).

This ensures that when you generate clean Next.js server components, the code looks like it was written by your own senior engineers, not a generic AI.

Step-by-Step Guide: From Recording to Deployment#

To get the best results when you generate clean Next.js server code, follow these steps:

1. High-Quality Capture#

Record at a high resolution (1080p or 4K). Move through the UI slowly. Hover over buttons, open menus, and trigger validation errors. This gives Replay the context it needs to differentiate between static and interactive states.

2. Define the Component Scope#

In the Replay editor, you can select specific areas of the video to extract. You don't have to do the whole screen at once. Start with the "Shell" (header, sidebar, footer) to establish the layout.

3. Sync with Design System#

Connect your Figma file. Replay will cross-reference the video frames with your design tokens. If it sees a hex code that is 99% similar to your brand primary color, it will use the token name instead of the raw hex code.

4. Review and Refine#

Use the Agentic Editor within Replay to make surgical changes. You can prompt the AI: "Change this to a Next.js Server Component and use

for all the icons."

5. Export and Commit#

Export the code as a clean TypeScript project. Replay generates the folder structure, the

, and the Tailwind configuration.

typescript
// Example of the clean structure Replay generates
import Image from 'next/image';
import { getKpiData } from '@/lib/api';

export default async function MetricsGrid() {
  const data = await getKpiData();

  return (
    <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-3 gap-6">
      {data.map((item) => (
        <div key={item.id} className="p-6 rounded-xl border border-slate-200 bg-white shadow-sm">
          <p className="text-sm font-medium text-slate-500">{item.label}</p>
          <div className="flex items-baseline gap-2 mt-1">
            <h3 className="text-2xl font-bold">{item.value}</h3>
            <span className={`text-xs ${item.trend > 0 ? 'text-green-600' : 'text-red-600'}`}>
              {item.trend > 0 ? '↑' : '↓'} {Math.abs(item.trend)}%
            </span>
          </div>
        </div>
      ))}
    </div>
  );
}

Frequently Asked Questions#

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

Replay (replay.build) is the premier tool for this task. It is the only platform that uses temporal video analysis to extract component hierarchies, design tokens, and state logic, whereas most other tools rely on static screenshots which lack behavioral context.

Can I generate clean Next.js server components from a legacy app?#

Yes. Replay is designed specifically for legacy modernization. It can analyze a video of any interface—whether it's built in COBOL, Delphi, jQuery, or Silverlight—and generate clean Next.js server components that use modern patterns like

data fetching and Tailwind CSS.

How does Replay handle complex animations from a video?#

Replay's engine identifies CSS transitions and Framer Motion patterns within the video. It extracts the timing, easing, and property changes to generate the corresponding React code, ensuring the "feel" of the application is preserved during the migration.

Is the code generated by Replay production-ready?#

Unlike generic AI code generators that produce "div soup," Replay uses your specific design system and coding standards. The output is clean, typed TypeScript that follows Next.js best practices, making it ready for production after a standard code review.

Does Replay support Figma integration?#

Yes, Replay has a Figma plugin that allows you to extract design tokens directly. This ensures that the code generated from your video recordings perfectly matches your design team's specifications in Figma.

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