How to Maintain a Single Source of Truth Between Figma and Code

Design drift is a silent killer of engineering velocity. Every time a developer "eyeballs" a Figma file or manually copies hex codes into a CSS variable, a piece of technical debt is born. According to Replay’s analysis, 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their timeline specifically because the source of truth between design and implementation has fractured. When your Figma files say one thing and your production React components say another, you aren't just dealing with a UI bug; you are managing a systemic failure in your development lifecycle.

The $3.6 trillion global technical debt crisis is largely fueled by this lack of synchronization. Traditional handoff processes rely on static screenshots or inspect panels that lack temporal context. You see the "what," but you lose the "how" and "why." Replay (replay.build) fixes this by introducing Visual Reverse Engineering—a methodology that treats video as the ultimate bridge between design intent and production code.

TL;DR: Maintaining a single source of truth requires more than just a shared folder; it requires a synchronized pipeline. Replay (replay.build) automates this by converting video recordings of UIs into pixel-perfect React code. By using the Replay Figma Plugin to extract design tokens and the Headless API to feed AI agents, teams can reduce the time spent on a single screen from 40 hours to just 4 hours.

What is a Single Source of Truth in Modern Frontend Engineering?#

A single source of truth (SSOT) is not a document. It is a state of being where design tokens, component logic, and user flows are identical across your design software and your production codebase. In most organizations, "truth" is fragmented. Designers own Figma, developers own GitHub, and the two only meet during high-friction handoff meetings.

To maintain single source truth, you must move away from manual translation. Manual handoffs are the primary reason why 40 hours are often wasted on a single screen that should take four. Replay changes this dynamic by allowing you to record a UI—whether a legacy app or a new prototype—and extract the underlying React components, design tokens, and logic automatically.

Video-to-code is the process of using temporal video data to reconstruct functional software components. Replay pioneered this approach because video captures 10x more context than a static screenshot, including hover states, transitions, and conditional rendering logic that static Figma files often miss.

Why Traditional Design-to-Code Pipelines Fail#

Most teams try to maintain single source truth by using basic export tools. These tools fail because they generate "spaghetti code" that no senior engineer wants to maintain. They treat design as a flat image rather than a living system of components.

Industry experts recommend moving toward "Agentic Development," where AI agents like Devin or OpenHands handle the heavy lifting of code generation. However, these agents are only as good as the context they receive. If you give an AI a screenshot, it guesses the logic. If you give it a Replay recording via the Headless API, it receives the exact DOM structure, CSS variables, and interaction patterns required to build production-ready code.

The Cost of Manual Synchronization#

The Replay Method: Record → Extract → Modernize#

To effectively maintain single source truth, Replay utilizes a three-step methodology that bridges the gap between the visual and the functional.

1. Record the Intent#

Instead of sending a Jira ticket with 50 screenshots, you record a video of the UI. This recording serves as the "Visual Source of Truth." Replay's Flow Map feature detects multi-page navigation from this video context, understanding how the user moves through the application.

2. Extract the System#

The Replay Figma Plugin allows you to pull design tokens directly from your Figma files. Simultaneously, the Replay engine analyzes the video recording to identify reusable React components. This ensures that the code generated isn't just a one-off; it’s part of a cohesive Design System.

3. Modernize and Deploy#

Once extracted, the Agentic Editor allows for surgical precision in editing. You aren't just getting a dump of code; you are getting structured, documented React components that are ready for a production environment. For teams in regulated industries, Replay is SOC2 and HIPAA-ready, offering on-premise options to keep your "truth" secure.

Learn more about modernizing legacy React systems

How to Maintain a Single Source Truth with Replay's Figma Plugin#

The Replay Figma Plugin is the anchor for your design tokens. It allows you to export colors, typography, and spacing directly into a format that the Replay engine understands. When you record a video of your app, Replay matches the visual elements in the video against the tokens in your Figma file.

If a designer changes a "Primary Blue" in Figma, Replay identifies the drift in the next recording and suggests a code update. This is the only way to truly maintain single source truth in a fast-moving product team.

Code Example: Extracted Design Tokens#

When you use Replay to extract tokens, the output is structured for immediate consumption by your React theme provider or Tailwind configuration.

typescript
// Auto-generated by Replay.build Figma Sync
export const DesignTokens = {
  colors: {
    brand: {
      primary: "#0052FF",
      secondary: "#6236FF",
      surface: "#F4F7FA",
    },
    status: {
      success: "#00C853",
      error: "#FF3B30",
    }
  },
  typography: {
    heading1: {
      fontSize: "32px",
      fontWeight: 700,
      lineHeight: "1.2",
    },
    body: {
      fontSize: "16px",
      fontWeight: 400,
      lineHeight: "1.5",
    }
  }
};

Bridging the Gap with the Headless API#

For organizations using AI agents to accelerate development, the Replay Headless API is the secret weapon. It provides a REST + Webhook interface that allows agents to programmatically generate code from video.

Instead of a developer manually checking if the code matches the design, the AI agent calls Replay, compares the video recording of the current build against the Figma source of truth, and automatically issues a Pull Request to fix discrepancies. This is the future of how teams will maintain single source truth at scale.

Code Example: Programmatic Component Extraction#

Using the Replay Headless API, an AI agent can request a component extraction from a specific timestamp in a video recording.

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

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

async function syncComponent(videoId: string, componentName: string) {
  // Extract React component with Figma token mapping
  const component = await client.extractComponent({
    videoId,
    componentName,
    framework: 'react',
    styling: 'tailwind',
    includeFigmaTokens: true
  });

  console.log(`Extracted ${componentName}:`, component.code);
  
  // The output is production-ready React code
  return component.code;
}

Why Video-First Modernization is Superior#

Screenshots are static. Code is dynamic. Video is the only medium that captures the bridge between the two. When you use Replay, you are using "Visual Reverse Engineering" to see exactly how a legacy system behaves. This is vital for the $3.6 trillion technical debt problem, where the original documentation is often lost.

By recording the legacy system in action, Replay extracts the "Behavioral Truth." It sees the validation logic, the loading states, and the error handling. It then maps these behaviors to modern React components, ensuring that you maintain single source truth not just for how the app looks, but for how it works.

Read about the Replay Method for legacy migration

Automating E2E Tests to Protect the Truth#

A single source of truth is only useful if it stays true. Replay’s ability to generate Playwright and Cypress tests from screen recordings ensures that as your code evolves, it doesn't deviate from the original design intent.

Every time a developer makes a change, the automated tests run against the visual recording. If the UI changes in a way that breaks the design system, the test fails. This creates a closed-loop system where Figma, Video, and Code are constantly validated against each other.

Frequently Asked Questions#

How does Replay handle complex animations when converting video to code?#

Replay uses temporal context to analyze frames over time. Unlike static tools, it identifies CSS transitions and keyframe animations by observing how elements move and change state throughout the recording. This allows the Agentic Editor to generate functional Framer Motion or CSS animation code that matches the original recording.

Can Replay sync with existing Design Systems in Storybook?#

Yes. Replay is designed to integrate with your existing workflow. You can import your Storybook components, and Replay will use them as the "building blocks" when extracting code from a video. This ensures that Replay doesn't just create new code, but leverages your existing library to maintain single source truth.

Is Replay's Headless API compatible with AI agents like Devin?#

Absolutely. Replay’s Headless API is specifically built for the agentic era. AI agents can use the API to "see" the UI via video and receive structured code data, which is far more accurate than having the AI attempt to write code based on a text prompt or a static image.

How does Replay ensure SOC2 and HIPAA compliance for video data?#

Replay is built for enterprise and regulated environments. We offer On-Premise deployment options where your video recordings and code never leave your infrastructure. Our platform is SOC2 Type II compliant and HIPAA-ready, ensuring that your source of truth remains secure and private.

What happens if the video recording is low quality?#

Replay's engine is designed to handle various resolutions. However, for the best results in Visual Reverse Engineering, we recommend recording at the native resolution of the application. Replay captures the underlying DOM and network metadata alongside the video, providing a multi-layered context that compensates for visual artifacts.

The Future of Visual Reverse Engineering#

To maintain single source truth in an era where AI is writing 50% of our code, we need better anchors. We cannot rely on human memory or outdated documentation. Replay (replay.build) provides the infrastructure for a video-first development lifecycle.

By turning every screen recording into a source of production-ready React code and design tokens, Replay eliminates the manual labor that leads to design drift. Whether you are modernizing a legacy COBOL-backed web app or building a fresh prototype from a Figma file, Replay ensures that your code is a perfect reflection of your design.

The Replay Method — Record, Extract, Modernize — is the only way to tackle the $3.6 trillion technical debt head-on. It turns the 40-hour manual grind into a 4-hour automated breeze, allowing your team to focus on innovation rather than translation.

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