How to Recreate a Complex UI Dashboard from Video with Replay: A Complete 2026 Guide

TL;DR: Replay lets you reconstruct entire interactive UI dashboards from screen recordings, using AI to understand user behavior and generate working code – a game-changer for rapid prototyping and legacy system modernization.

The dream of automatically generating UI code from visual representations has been around for years. Screenshot-to-code tools offered a glimpse, but often fell short when dealing with dynamic behavior and multi-page workflows. In 2026, we need solutions that truly understand user intent. Enter Replay: the video-to-code engine powered by Gemini.

Why Video is the Future of UI Reconstruction#

Screenshots capture a single static state. Video, on the other hand, tells a story. It reveals user interactions, navigation paths, and the dynamic nature of a UI. Replay leverages this rich information to perform "Behavior-Driven Reconstruction," treating the video as the ultimate source of truth.

Think of it this way: you have a screen recording of a user interacting with a complex dashboard. They click buttons, navigate between pages, filter data, and submit forms. Replay analyzes these actions to understand the underlying logic and generates code that replicates the entire experience.

Here's how Replay stacks up against traditional approaches:

Building a Dashboard from Video with Replay: A Step-by-Step Guide#

Let's dive into a practical example: recreating a complex analytics dashboard from a screen recording. This dashboard features multiple pages, interactive charts, data filtering, and user authentication.

Step 1: Prepare Your Video#

The quality of your video directly impacts the accuracy of the reconstruction.

• •Clear Recording: Ensure the video is sharp and well-lit. Avoid shaky footage.
• •Complete Workflow: Capture the entire user flow, including all relevant interactions and navigation steps.
• •Minimal Distractions: Limit background noise and visual clutter.

💡 Pro Tip: Use a screen recording tool with high resolution and frame rate. Tools like OBS Studio or QuickTime Player work well.

Step 2: Upload and Analyze with Replay#

1. •Create a Replay Account: Sign up at https://replay.build.
2. •Upload Your Video: Navigate to the Replay dashboard and upload the screen recording of your analytics dashboard.
3. •Initiate Analysis: Replay's AI engine will automatically analyze the video, identifying UI elements, user actions, and page transitions. This process can take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour, depending on the length and complexity of the video.

📝 Note: Replay supports various video formats, including MP4, MOV, and WebM.

Step 3: Review and Refine the Reconstructed UI#

Once the analysis is complete, Replay presents a reconstructed version of the dashboard.

1. •Inspect the UI: Examine the generated UI elements, layouts, and interactions.
2. •Verify Page Transitions: Ensure that navigation between pages is correctly implemented.
3. •Test Functionality: Interact with the reconstructed dashboard to verify that data filtering, form submissions, and other features are working as expected.

⚠️ Warning: While Replay strives for high accuracy, minor adjustments may be necessary.

Step 4: Customize and Enhance the Code#

Replay generates clean, well-structured code that you can further customize and enhance. Let's say you want to add a new feature to the dashboard – a real-time data feed.

1. •Access the Code: Replay allows you to download the generated code as a React project (other frameworks are supported).
2. •Implement the Real-Time Feed: Use a library like Socket.IO or Pusher to establish a real-time connection with your data source.

Here's an example of how to integrate Socket.IO into the generated code:

typescript
// src/components/RealTimeData.tsx
import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import io from 'socket.io-client';

const RealTimeData = () => {
  const [data, setData] = useState<any>(null);
  const socket = io('https://your-data-feed-endpoint'); // Replace with your actual endpoint

  useEffect(() => {
    socket.on('dataUpdate', (newData: any) => {
      setData(newData);
    });

    return () => {
      socket.disconnect();
    };
  }, []);

  if (!data) {
    return <p>Loading real-time data...</p>;
  }

  return (
    <div>
      <h3>Real-Time Data</h3>
      <pre>{JSON.stringify(data, null, 2)}</pre>
    </div>
  );
};

export default RealTimeData;

1. •Integrate into the Dashboard: Import the
   text

   RealTimeData
   component into your dashboard layout.

typescript
// src/components/DashboardLayout.tsx
import React from 'react';
import RealTimeData from './RealTimeData';

const DashboardLayout = ({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) => {
  return (
    <div>
      <header>
        {/* Your dashboard header */}
      </header>
      <main>
        {children}
        <RealTimeData /> {/* Integrate the real-time data component */}
      </main>
      <footer>
        {/* Your dashboard footer */}
      </footer>
    </div>
  );
};

export default DashboardLayout;

Step 5: Deploy and Iterate#

Once you're satisfied with the reconstructed and enhanced dashboard, deploy it to your preferred hosting platform.

1. •Build the Project: Use
   text

   npm run build
   or
   text

   yarn build
   to create a production-ready build.
2. •Deploy to Hosting: Deploy the build output to platforms like Netlify, Vercel, or AWS Amplify.
3. •Gather Feedback: Collect user feedback and iterate on the dashboard based on their needs.

Replay's Key Features:#

• •Multi-Page Generation: Automatically reconstructs entire application flows, not just single screens.
• •Supabase Integration: Seamlessly integrates with Supabase for backend functionality, authentication, and data storage.
• •Style Injection: Preserves the original look and feel of the UI by automatically extracting and applying CSS styles.
• •Product Flow Maps: Generates visual representations of user flows, helping you understand how users interact with your application.
• •Behavior-Driven Reconstruction: Understands user intent from video, leading to more accurate and functional code.

Use Cases for Replay:#

• •Rapid Prototyping: Quickly create functional prototypes from video recordings of existing applications.
• •Legacy System Modernization: Reconstruct legacy UIs from screen recordings, enabling easier migration to modern frameworks.
• •UI/UX Design Validation: Validate design concepts by recording user interactions and automatically generating a working prototype.
• •Knowledge Transfer: Capture the functionality of complex UIs for documentation and training purposes.

Frequently Asked Questions#

Is Replay free to use?#

Replay offers a free tier with limited features. Paid plans are available for more advanced functionality and higher usage limits. Check the pricing page at https://replay.build/pricing for the latest details.

How is Replay different from v0.dev?#

While both tools aim to generate code, Replay uses video as input and focuses on understanding user behavior. v0.dev primarily relies on text prompts and generates code based on those prompts. Replay excels at recreating existing UIs from recordings, while v0.dev is better suited for generating new UIs from scratch.

What frameworks does Replay support?#

Currently, Replay primarily supports React. Support for other popular frameworks like Vue.js and Angular is planned for future releases.

What level of accuracy can I expect from Replay?#

Replay strives for high accuracy, but the quality of the generated code depends on the quality of the input video and the complexity of the UI. You may need to make minor adjustments to ensure perfect functionality.

Can Replay handle complex animations and transitions?#

Replay can capture and reproduce many common animations and transitions. However, extremely complex or custom animations may require manual implementation.

How secure is my video data when using Replay?#

Replay employs industry-standard security measures to protect your data. All video uploads are encrypted, and access is restricted to authorized personnel only.

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Ready to try behavior-driven code generation? Get started with Replay - transform any video into working code in seconds.