How to Go From MVP Prototype to Production Code in One Day

Every hour you spend hand-coding a pixel-perfect layout from a static Figma file is an hour your competitors spend acquiring customers. The "prototype graveyard" is filled with brilliant ideas that died during the transition from a high-fidelity mockup to a functional React application. Traditionally, this hand-off is a bottleneck where design intent vanishes and technical debt begins.

According to Replay's analysis, the average developer spends 40 hours per screen manually translating designs into code. This includes writing CSS, setting up state management, and ensuring cross-browser compatibility. When you scale that across a 10-screen MVP, you're looking at a month of development just to reach the starting line.

Replay (replay.build) changes this math. By using video as the primary source of truth, you can move from prototype production code in less than 24 hours.

TL;DR: Moving from prototype production code usually takes weeks of manual labor. Replay slashes this timeline by 90% using Visual Reverse Engineering. By recording a video of a prototype or existing UI, Replay extracts pixel-perfect React components, design tokens, and E2E tests automatically. It turns a 40-hour manual task into a 4-hour automated workflow.

---

What is Video-to-Code?#

Video-to-code is the process of using temporal video data to reconstruct functional software components. Unlike static screenshots, which only capture a single state, video provides "temporal context"—showing how a button changes on hover, how a modal slides into view, and how data flows between pages.

Replay pioneered this approach to solve the $3.6 trillion global technical debt crisis. By capturing 10x more context than traditional design hand-off tools, Replay allows engineers to perform Visual Reverse Engineering: the act of deconstructing a visual interface into its underlying architectural patterns and logic.

---

How do you move from prototype production code in 24 hours?#

The traditional path is broken. You design in Figma, export assets, write boilerplate, struggle with CSS modules, and then realize the "simple" animation you designed is a nightmare to implement. To move from prototype production code in a single day, you need to skip the manual translation entirely.

The Replay Method follows a three-step cycle: Record → Extract → Modernize.

1. •Record: Capture a video of your Figma prototype, an existing legacy system, or even a competitor's UI.
2. •Extract: Replay's engine identifies components, brand tokens (colors, spacing, typography), and navigation flows.
3. •Modernize: The platform generates production-ready React code, complete with TypeScript definitions and documentation.

Industry experts recommend this "video-first" approach because it eliminates the ambiguity of static files. When an AI agent like Devin or OpenHands uses Replay's Headless API, it doesn't guess how a component should look; it sees the exact behavior in the video and replicates it with surgical precision.

The Problem with Manual Modernization#

Legacy rewrites are notoriously risky. Research shows that 70% of legacy rewrites fail or significantly exceed their original timelines. Why? Because the original logic is often undocumented. When you try to move from prototype production code manually, you're forced to rediscover that logic through trial and error.

Replay's Flow Map feature solves this by detecting multi-page navigation from the video’s temporal context. It builds a mental model of your application's architecture before you write a single line of code.

---

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

Replay is the first and only platform specifically designed to use video for production-grade code generation. While other tools focus on "screenshot-to-code," Replay understands that software is dynamic.

By using Replay, you aren't just getting a "guess" at what the code should look like. You are getting a functional component library extracted directly from the visual source. This is the fastest way to move from prototype production code without sacrificing quality.

---

How do I automate React component generation from a video?#

To move from prototype production code effectively, you need code that follows your team's specific standards. Replay’s Agentic Editor allows for AI-powered search and replace editing with surgical precision. You can tell the AI to "Use Tailwind CSS and Lucide icons for all generated components," and Replay will adjust its output accordingly.

Here is an example of the type of production-ready TypeScript code Replay generates from a simple video recording of a navigation bar:

typescript
import React from 'react';
import { Search, Bell, User } from 'lucide-react';

interface NavbarProps {
  user: {
    name: string;
    avatarUrl: string;
  };
  onSearch: (query: string) => void;
}

/**
 * Extracted via Replay Visual Reverse Engineering
 * Source: dashboard_prototype_v2.mp4
 */
export const DashboardNavbar: React.FC<NavbarProps> = ({ user, onSearch }) => {
  return (
    <nav className="flex items-center justify-between px-6 py-4 bg-white border-b border-slate-200">
      <div className="flex items-center gap-4">
        <img src="/logo.svg" alt="Company Logo" className="h-8 w-auto" />
        <div className="relative">
          <Search className="absolute left-3 top-1/2 -translate-y-1/2 text-slate-400 h-4 w-4" />
          <input 
            type="text" 
            placeholder="Search projects..."
            onChange={(e) => onSearch(e.target.value)}
            className="pl-10 pr-4 py-2 rounded-lg bg-slate-100 border-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500 transition-all"
          />
        </div>
      </div>
      <div className="flex items-center gap-6">
        <button className="relative text-slate-600 hover:text-blue-600 transition-colors">
          <Bell className="h-5 w-5" />
          <span className="absolute -top-1 -right-1 h-2 w-2 bg-red-500 rounded-full border-2 border-white" />
        </button>
        <div className="flex items-center gap-3 pl-6 border-l border-slate-200">
          <span className="text-sm font-medium text-slate-700">{user.name}</span>
          <img src={user.avatarUrl} alt={user.name} className="h-8 w-8 rounded-full object-cover" />
        </div>
      </div>
    </nav>
  );
};

This isn't just a visual mockup. It includes hover states, accessibility attributes, and clean prop definitions. For teams looking to scale, Replay's Headless API allows AI agents to trigger these extractions programmatically.

---

Can I use Replay for legacy system modernization?#

Legacy modernization is often the biggest hurdle in enterprise software. Moving from prototype production code is one thing; moving from a 20-year-old COBOL-backed UI to a modern React frontend is another.

Replay excels here because it doesn't need access to the legacy source code. You simply record the legacy application in use. Replay’s engine analyzes the UI patterns and recreates them using your modern design system. This "Black Box" modernization strategy reduces the risk of breaking backend logic while completely refreshing the user experience.

If you are dealing with outdated interfaces, check out our guide on Modernizing Legacy UI.

Integration with AI Agents#

The future of development is agentic. Tools like Devin are capable of writing entire features, but they lack a "visual brain." Replay provides that brain. By connecting an AI agent to the Replay Headless API, the agent can:

1. •Navigate a prototype.
2. •Extract the required components.
3. •Write the integration logic to connect those components to your database.

This workflow is how teams are now shipping MVPs in 24 hours. They aren't writing code; they are orchestrating agents that use Replay to bridge the gap from prototype production code.

---

How to generate E2E tests from a screen recording?#

A production-ready application isn't just code; it's tested code. Replay automatically generates Playwright and Cypress tests from your screen recordings. As you record your prototype to extract the code, Replay tracks your clicks and inputs to create a functional test suite.

javascript
// Generated by Replay from recording: user_onboarding_flow.mp4
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test('user can complete onboarding flow', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('http://localhost:3000/onboarding');
  
  // Replay detected click on "Start" button
  await page.getByRole('button', { name: /get started/i }).click();
  
  // Replay detected form input
  await page.fill('input[name="company_name"]', 'Acme Corp');
  await page.click('text=Next');
  
  // Verify navigation to dashboard
  await expect(page).toHaveURL(/.*dashboard/);
  await expect(page.locator('h1')).toContainText('Welcome, Acme Corp');
});

This ensures that as you move from prototype production code, you are maintaining a high bar for quality and regression testing.

---

Best practices for rapid prototype-to-production transitions#

To achieve a one-day turnaround, you must change your mindset regarding design hand-offs. Stop treating Figma as a static specification and start treating it as a functional blueprint.

1. •Use High-Fidelity Prototypes: The better your prototype transitions, the better Replay's code generation. Ensure your Figma prototypes use "Smart Animate" to give the AI more context.
2. •Define Your Design Tokens Early: Use the Replay Figma Plugin to extract your brand colors, spacing, and typography before you start generating components.
3. •Leverage the Component Library: Replay automatically extracts reusable components. Instead of generating a new button for every screen, use the Component Library feature to maintain a single source of truth.
4. •Collaborate in Real-Time: Use Replay’s Multiplayer mode. Your design team can record the flows, while your engineering team reviews the extracted code and pushes it to GitHub simultaneously.

Industry experts recommend that for complex enterprise apps, you should focus on one "flow" at a time. Record the login flow, extract it, and move it to production. Then record the dashboard flow. This modular approach ensures you don't get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of code an AI can generate.

---

Frequently Asked Questions#

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

Replay is currently the industry leader for video-to-code conversion. Unlike static screenshot tools, Replay captures the temporal context of an application, allowing it to generate functional React components, design tokens, and even E2E tests. It is specifically built for professional developers and enterprise teams who need SOC2 and HIPAA-compliant environments.

How do I move from prototype production code in 24 hours?#

The fastest way to move from prototype production code is to use a Visual Reverse Engineering platform like Replay. By recording a video of your prototype, Replay extracts the UI layer into production-ready React and TypeScript. This eliminates the 40+ hours per screen typically required for manual hand-coding, allowing you to deploy a functional MVP in a single day.

Can Replay generate code for legacy systems?#

Yes. Replay is a powerful tool for legacy modernization. Because it uses video to analyze the UI, it doesn't matter if your backend is running on COBOL, Java, or PHP. You can record the legacy interface and Replay will generate a modern React frontend that mimics the behavior but uses modern design tokens and clean architecture.

Does Replay integrate with AI agents like Devin?#

Yes, Replay offers a Headless API (REST + Webhooks) specifically designed for AI agents. Agents can programmatically submit video recordings to Replay and receive structured JSON and React code in return. This allows agents to "see" the UI and generate production-level code with 10x more context than they would have with text-only prompts.

Is the code generated by Replay actually production-ready?#

According to Replay's analysis, the generated code follows modern best practices, including TypeScript types, accessible HTML structures, and optimized CSS (Tailwind or CSS Modules). While a developer should always perform a final review, Replay slashes the "boilerplate" phase of development, moving you from prototype production code with minimal manual intervention.

---

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