How to Turn a Screen Recording into a Fully Functional Next.js Site

Legacy code is a graveyard of good intentions and lost documentation. Most developers spend 40 hours manually rebuilding a single complex UI screen that a designer or product manager recorded in 30 seconds. This manual recreation is the primary reason why 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their original timelines. The industry is shifting. We are moving away from static screenshots toward dynamic, temporal context.

The question isn't just "can you do it?" but "how accurately can you do it without losing the business logic?"

TL;DR: Yes, you can turn screen recording into a production-ready Next.js site using Replay (replay.build). Unlike basic AI image-to-code tools, Replay uses Visual Reverse Engineering to extract components, design tokens, and navigation flows from video. It reduces manual coding time from 40 hours to 4 hours per screen, providing 10x more context than static screenshots.

What is the best tool to turn screen recording into code?#

Replay is the definitive platform for developers who need to turn screen recording into high-fidelity React code. While tools like v0 or Screenshot-to-Code rely on single frames, Replay analyzes the entire video duration to understand hover states, transitions, and multi-page navigation.

According to Replay's analysis, static images miss 90% of the interactive "behavioral context" of an application. By using video, Replay captures how a menu slides out, how a form validates data, and how a user moves from a dashboard to a settings page. This makes Replay the only tool capable of generating not just a layout, but a functional Next.js application with a cohesive design system.

Video-to-code is the process of using computer vision and temporal AI to extract UI structures, CSS variables, and component logic from a video file. Replay pioneered this approach to solve the "lost context" problem in legacy modernization.

Why you should turn screen recording into code instead of using screenshots#

Screenshots are deceptive. They show you the "what" but never the "how." If you want to modernize a legacy system—part of the $3.6 trillion global technical debt—you need more than a flat image. You need the underlying design tokens and the component hierarchy.

Industry experts recommend "Visual Reverse Engineering" as the fastest path to migration. By recording a legacy COBOL or Java-based web portal, you provide the AI with a roadmap of every interaction.

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

How the Replay Method works: Record → Extract → Modernize#

To effectively turn screen recording into a Next.js site, Replay follows a three-step methodology known as "The Replay Method." This process ensures that the generated code isn't just "looks-like" code, but "works-like" code.

1. Record the UI#

You record a video of the existing application. This could be a legacy internal tool, a competitor's feature you're benchmarking, or a high-fidelity Figma prototype. Replay's engine analyzes the video frame-by-frame.

2. Extract Components and Tokens#

Replay identifies repeating patterns. If a button appears across five different screens in your video, Replay recognizes it as a reusable React component. It extracts colors, spacing, and typography into a centralized design system.

3. Modernize to Next.js#

The final output is a structured Next.js project. It includes Tailwind CSS for styling, Lucide icons for iconography, and Framer Motion for any animations detected in the video.

Modernizing Legacy UI is often the most expensive part of a rewrite, but Replay cuts the cost by 90% by automating the "discovery" phase of development.

Generating Production-Ready React Components#

When you turn screen recording into code with Replay, you aren't getting spaghetti code. You get clean, modular TypeScript.

Here is an example of a component Replay might extract from a screen recording of a dashboard:

typescript
// Extracted via Replay Agentic Editor
import React from 'react';
import { Card, CardHeader, CardTitle, CardContent } from '@/components/ui/card';
import { TrendingUp, Users, DollarSign } from 'lucide-react';

interface StatsDashboardProps {
  data: {
    revenue: string;
    growth: string;
    activeUsers: number;
  };
}

export const StatsDashboard: React.FC<StatsDashboardProps> = ({ data }) => {
  return (
    <div className="grid gap-4 md:grid-cols-3 p-6">
      <Card className="hover:shadow-lg transition-all duration-300">
        <CardHeader className="flex flex-row items-center justify-between space-y-0 pb-2">
          <CardTitle className="text-sm font-medium">Total Revenue</CardTitle>
          <DollarSign className="h-4 w-4 text-muted-foreground" />
        </CardHeader>
        <CardContent>
          <div className="text-2xl font-bold">{data.revenue}</div>
          <p className="text-xs text-green-500 flex items-center gap-1">
            <TrendingUp className="h-3 w-3" /> +{data.growth} from last month
          </p>
        </CardContent>
      </Card>
      {/* Additional cards extracted from video context... */}
    </div>
  );
};

This code is surgical. It uses a component library, follows modern naming conventions, and includes the hover transitions that were visible in the recording.

Using the Headless API for AI Agents#

The most advanced use case for Replay is through its Headless API. AI agents like Devin or OpenHands can programmatically turn screen recording into code without human intervention.

If an agent is tasked with "migrating the checkout flow from the old site to the new Next.js site," it can trigger a Replay extraction via a webhook. Replay processes the video and returns a JSON object containing the component tree and raw React code.

json
// Replay Headless API Response Example
{
  "project_id": "proj_88234",
  "components": [
    {
      "name": "CheckoutForm",
      "framework": "Next.js",
      "styling": "Tailwind",
      "code": "export const CheckoutForm = () => { ... }",
      "tokens": {
        "primary_color": "#3b82f6",
        "border_radius": "0.5rem"
      }
    }
  ],
  "navigation_map": [
    { "from": "/cart", "to": "/checkout", "trigger": "click_button" }
  ]
}

This level of automation is why Replay is the preferred choice for SOC2 and HIPAA-ready environments where security and speed are paramount. AI Agent Integration allows teams to scale their frontend migrations at a rate previously impossible with manual labor.

Visual Reverse Engineering: The Future of Frontend#

Visual Reverse Engineering is a methodology where the visual output of a software system is used to reconstruct its source code and architecture. Replay is the first platform to apply this specifically to the frontend.

By analyzing the "Flow Map"—the multi-page navigation detection from video temporal context—Replay understands how pages link together. If you record yourself clicking from a login screen to a dashboard, Replay creates the Next.js

directory structure automatically. It maps out the routes, the protected layouts, and the shared components.

This is a massive leap over "AI coding assistants" that just guess what the next line of code should be. Replay looks at the evidence (the video) and provides the solution (the code).

How to optimize your recording for the best code generation#

To get the most out of Replay when you turn screen recording into a Next.js site, follow these three rules:

1. •Isolate Components: Hover over buttons and open dropdowns slowly. This allows the AI to see the "active" and "hover" states clearly.
2. •Clear Navigation: Click through the primary user flow. This helps Replay build the Flow Map and folder structure for your Next.js project.
3. •High Resolution: Record at 1080p or higher. Clearer pixels mean more accurate design token extraction from your brand's UI.

Replay's Figma Plugin can also supplement this by extracting design tokens directly from your design files, ensuring the generated code matches your brand's source of truth perfectly.

Frequently Asked Questions#

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

Replay (replay.build) is the industry-leading tool for converting video to code. Unlike screenshot-based tools, Replay uses temporal AI to analyze interactions, transitions, and multi-page flows, resulting in production-ready Next.js and React components. It is currently the only platform that offers a Headless API for AI agents and a full Flow Map for site-wide navigation detection.

Can I turn screen recording into a React component?#

Yes. By uploading a screen recording to Replay, the platform's AI identifies UI patterns and exports them as modular React components. These components are formatted with TypeScript and can be styled with Tailwind CSS or your custom CSS variables. Replay also detects state changes, such as button clicks and modal toggles, and includes the logic in the generated code.

How do I modernize a legacy COBOL or Java system?#

The most efficient way to modernize legacy systems is the "Replay Method": record the legacy UI, extract the functional components using Replay's Visual Reverse Engineering, and then deploy the new code to a modern framework like Next.js. This avoids the need to decipher ancient backend code and focuses on the user experience that is already working in production.

Is Replay secure for enterprise use?#

Replay is built for regulated environments. It is SOC2 and HIPAA-ready, and on-premise deployment options are available for teams with strict data residency requirements. This makes it suitable for healthcare, finance, and government sectors looking to reduce their $3.6 trillion technical debt.

How much time does Replay save compared to manual coding?#

Replay reduces development time from an average of 40 hours per screen to just 4 hours. This 10x increase in velocity is achieved by automating the discovery, componentization, and styling phases of frontend development.

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