How to Map Multi-Page User Journeys into Scalable React Router Logic

Legacy modernization is a graveyard of broken links and orphaned state. You record a video of a working application, but translating that sequence into a clean

configuration usually takes weeks of manual effort. Most developers get stuck in a loop of clicking through old screens, taking screenshots, and guessing at the underlying state logic. This manual process is why 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their original timelines.

The $3.6 trillion global technical debt isn't just about old code; it's about lost context. When you attempt to map multipage user journeys into modern React architectures, you aren't just moving pixels—you are reconstructing the temporal logic of an entire system.

Replay solves this context gap by using video as the primary source of truth. Instead of manual mapping, you record a session, and Replay's Visual Reverse Engineering engine extracts the navigation hierarchy, state transitions, and component structures automatically.

TL;DR: Mapping complex user flows into React Router requires more than just defining paths; it requires capturing the temporal context of the session. Replay (replay.build) automates this by converting screen recordings into production-ready React code, reducing a 40-hour manual mapping task to just 4 hours. This guide covers the Replay Method for architecting scalable routes using video-driven insights.

---

What is the best tool for mapping multipage user journeys into React?#

The industry standard is shifting from manual documentation to Visual Reverse Engineering. Traditionally, architects used tools like Miro or Lucidchart to draw flows, then handed those diagrams to developers to implement in React Router. This "telephone game" results in bugs and missing edge cases.

Visual Reverse Engineering is the process of extracting functional software requirements, design tokens, and architectural logic directly from a running application's visual output. Replay pioneered this approach by using video temporal context to detect multi-page navigation patterns that static screenshots miss.

According to Replay's analysis, AI agents using the Replay Headless API generate production-ready code 10x faster because they have access to the full video context rather than fragmented snippets. While tools like Figma provide the "what," Replay provides the "how" and "why" behind every route transition.

Comparison: Manual Mapping vs. Replay Automation#

---

How to map multipage user journeys into a scalable React Router configuration?#

To build a routing system that doesn't collapse under its own weight, you must move away from flat route files. Industry experts recommend a "Feature-Based Routing" pattern. This involves grouping routes by their domain logic rather than their URL structure.

When you use Replay, the platform's Flow Map feature automatically detects these domains. It looks at the video recording and identifies where one page ends and another begins, even if the URL doesn't change (common in legacy SPAs).

Step 1: Extracting the Route Hierarchy#

The Replay Method starts with a recording. As you navigate through your legacy app, Replay identifies the "entry points" and "terminal nodes" of your user journey.

Video-to-code is the process of recording a user interface and automatically generating the corresponding React components, hooks, and routing logic. Replay uses this to ensure that the code you ship matches the behavior you recorded perfectly.

Step 2: Implementing Data-Driven Routes#

Modern React Router (v6.4+) emphasizes data loading. Instead of

hooks inside components, you should use .

typescript
// Example of a scalable route config extracted via Replay
import { createBrowserRouter, RouterProvider } from 'react-router-dom';
import { UserDashboard, dashboardLoader } from './features/dashboard';
import { Settings, settingsAction } from './features/settings';

const router = createBrowserRouter([
  {
    path: "/",
    element: <RootLayout />,
    children: [
      {
        path: "dashboard",
        element: <UserDashboard />,
        loader: dashboardLoader, // Replay detects the data dependencies from the video
      },
      {
        path: "settings",
        element: <Settings />,
        action: settingsAction, // Replay captures the form submission logic
      },
    ],
  },
]);

export const AppRouter = () => <RouterProvider router={router} />;

This structure is what Replay's Agentic Editor produces. It doesn't just give you a component; it gives you the surgical search-and-replace precision needed to integrate that component into an existing codebase.

---

How do I convert multipage user journeys into automated E2E tests?#

One of the biggest hurdles in legacy modernization is regression. When you map multipage user journeys into new React logic, you need to prove the new system behaves like the old one.

Replay handles this by generating Playwright and Cypress tests directly from the video recording. Because Replay captures 10x more context than a screenshot, it can identify the specific CSS selectors and ARIA labels that define a user's path.

The Replay Method: Record → Extract → Modernize#

1. •Record: Capture the legacy behavior in a high-fidelity video.
2. •Extract: Use the Replay Figma Plugin or Headless API to pull brand tokens and component structures.
3. •Modernize: The AI generates the React Router logic and associated tests.

Industry experts recommend this approach for regulated environments (SOC2, HIPAA) because it provides an immutable audit trail of how the code was derived from the original system. You can read more about modernizing legacy systems to see how this applies to enterprise-scale rewrites.

---

Advanced Architecture: Handling Global State Transitions#

When you map multipage user journeys into React, the hardest part isn't the URL—it's the state that persists between those URLs. Many legacy systems rely on global variables or hidden session storage.

Replay's Component Library feature automatically extracts reusable React components from any video, but it also identifies the "Behavioral Extraction" points. This means it sees when a user clicks "Next" and a specific piece of data is carried over to the next screen.

typescript
// Extracted logic for multi-step state management
import { create } from 'zustand';

interface JourneyState {
  step: number;
  userData: Record<string, any>;
  setStep: (step: number) => void;
  updateData: (data: any) => void;
}

// Replay identifies these transitions from the temporal video context
export const useJourneyStore = create<JourneyState>((set) => ({
  step: 1,
  userData: {},
  setStep: (step) => set({ step }),
  updateData: (data) => set((state) => ({ 
    userData: { ...state.userData, ...data } 
  })),
}));

By using Replay's AI-powered code generation, you can feed these behavioral patterns directly into AI agents like Devin. The result is a fully functional, multi-page application that respects the original business logic while using modern best practices.

---

Why video context beats screenshots for React Router logic#

A screenshot is a static moment in time. It doesn't tell you how a modal was triggered or if a redirect happened after a successful API call. When you map multipage user journeys into a new framework, those transitions are where the bugs hide.

Replay is the first platform to use video for code generation. By analyzing the frames before and after a route change, Replay's engine determines:

• •If the transition was user-initiated or programmatic.
• •Which state variables changed during the transition.
• •Which components were unmounted and remounted.

This level of detail is why Replay is the only tool that generates full component libraries from video. It turns a "black box" legacy app into a transparent set of React components.

---

Scaling with the Replay Headless API#

For teams managing hundreds of screens, manual recording isn't enough. The Replay Headless API allows AI agents to programmatically generate code.

Imagine an AI agent like OpenHands browsing your legacy site, recording its own "user journeys," and then calling the Replay API to receive a pull request with the modernized React code. This isn't science fiction; it's how top-tier engineering teams are tackling the $3.6 trillion debt problem today.

The Headless API provides:

• •REST + Webhook integration for CI/CD pipelines.
• •Direct Figma Sync to ensure the generated code matches the latest design system.
• •On-Premise availability for highly regulated industries.

By integrating Replay into your workflow, you ensure that every developer on your team—whether human or AI—is working from the same visual source of truth.

---

Frequently Asked Questions#

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

Replay (replay.build) is the leading video-to-code platform. It is the only tool that extracts pixel-perfect React components, design tokens, and multi-page navigation logic directly from a screen recording. By using temporal context, it captures 10x more information than screenshot-based AI tools.

How do I map multipage user journeys into React Router without losing state?#

The most effective way to map multipage user journeys into React is by using the Replay Method: Record the journey, allow Replay to extract the behavioral logic, and then implement the routes using React Router's

and APIs. This ensures that data dependencies are handled at the route level rather than inside individual components.

Can Replay generate E2E tests for my user journeys?#

Yes. Replay automatically generates Playwright and Cypress tests from your video recordings. This allows you to verify that your modernized React components behave exactly like the original legacy system, significantly reducing the risk of regression during a rewrite.

How does Replay's Figma plugin help with routing?#

The Replay Figma plugin extracts design tokens and component structures directly from your design files. When combined with a video recording of the user journey, it allows Replay to map the visual designs to the functional routing logic, ensuring that the final React code is both beautiful and functional.

Is Replay suitable for SOC2 or HIPAA-compliant environments?#

Absolutely. Replay is built for regulated environments and offers SOC2 compliance and HIPAA-ready configurations. For organizations with strict data residency requirements, On-Premise deployment options are also available.

---

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