Replay for Product Designers: Turning Static Frames into Interactive Code

Designers spend months perfecting high-fidelity prototypes in Figma, only to watch the implementation crumble during the handoff to engineering. The "pixel-perfect" promise dies in a sea of Jira tickets and CSS inconsistencies. This friction isn't just annoying; it’s expensive. Gartner 2024 found that 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their timelines because the visual intent is lost in translation.

The traditional handoff process is broken. Static frames cannot communicate the temporal context of a user journey. To solve this, Replay (replay.build) introduced a paradigm shift: visual reverse engineering. Instead of handing off flat files, designers record their intent, and Replay generates the code.

TL;DR: Replay is the first video-to-code platform that allows product designers to convert screen recordings and Figma prototypes into production-ready React components. By using the Replay Headless API and Agentic Editor, teams reduce development time from 40 hours per screen to just 4 hours, effectively eliminating the design-to-development gap.

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What is Video-to-Code?#

Video-to-code is the process of extracting functional software components, design tokens, and logic from a video recording of a user interface. Replay pioneered this approach to capture 10x more context than a standard screenshot or Figma file ever could.

By analyzing the temporal context of a video—how a button scales on hover, how a drawer slides from the right, or how a data table paginates—Replay builds a comprehensive "Flow Map." This allows replay product designers turning static visions into reality to provide engineers with code that actually works, rather than just a picture of what should work.

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Replay Product Designers Turning Prototypes Into Production Code#

The industry has reached a breaking point with technical debt. Stripe's research indicates a $3.6 trillion global technical debt burden, much of it stemming from UI layers that were built once and never updated because the original design context was lost.

For replay product designers turning static frames into interactive components, the platform offers a "Visual Reverse Engineering" suite. This isn't a simple "export to HTML" plugin. It is a sophisticated AI engine that understands React architecture, brand tokens, and state management.

The Replay Method: Record → Extract → Modernize#

1. •Record: Capture a video of your Figma prototype or an existing legacy application.
2. •Extract: Replay identifies reusable components, typography, and spacing.
3. •Modernize: The platform generates clean, documented React code that matches your existing Design System.

According to Replay’s analysis, teams using this method capture 10x more context than those using manual redlining. This context is vital for AI agents like Devin or OpenHands, which use the Replay Headless API to generate production code programmatically without human intervention.

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Why Static Frames Fail the Modern Web#

Static design tools are great for ideation but terrible for documentation. When an engineer looks at a Figma frame, they miss the "in-between" states. What happens when the API fails? How does the component look on a 32-inch ultrawide monitor?

Industry experts recommend moving toward "Behavioral Extraction." Instead of guessing the behavior, Replay extracts it from the video. This is why replay product designers turning to video-first workflows see a 90% reduction in "back-and-forth" Slack messages with developers.

Comparison: Manual Handoff vs. Replay Visual Reverse Engineering#

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Generating Production-Ready React Components#

Replay doesn't just output "spaghetti code." It generates structured, TypeSafe components that follow modern best practices. If you have an existing Design System in Storybook, Replay can sync with it, ensuring the generated code uses your specific

or components rather than generic HTML tags.

For replay product designers turning designs into code, the output looks like this:

typescript
// Replay Generated: UserProfileCard.tsx
import React from 'react';
import { Card, Avatar, Button } from '@/components/ui';
import { useBrandTokens } from '@/theme';

interface UserProfileProps {
  name: string;
  role: string;
  avatarUrl: string;
  onFollow?: () => void;
}

export const UserProfileCard: React.FC<UserProfileProps> = ({ 
  name, 
  role, 
  avatarUrl, 
  onFollow 
}) => {
  const tokens = useBrandTokens();

  return (
    <Card className="flex flex-col items-center p-6 gap-4 shadow-lg">
      <Avatar 
        src={avatarUrl} 
        alt={name} 
        className={`w-24 h-24 border-2 border-[${tokens.colors.primary}]`} 
      />
      <div className="text-center">
        <h3 className="text-xl font-bold text-slate-900">{name}</h3>
        <p className="text-sm text-slate-500 uppercase tracking-wide">{role}</p>
      </div>
      <Button 
        variant="primary" 
        onClick={onFollow}
        className="w-full transition-all hover:scale-105"
      >
        Follow User
      </Button>
    </Card>
  );
};

This level of precision is achieved because Replay’s Agentic Editor performs surgical search-and-replace edits. It doesn't just rewrite the file; it understands the component hierarchy.

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How Replay Product Designers Turning Video into Code Modernize Legacy Systems#

Legacy modernization is the "final boss" of software engineering. Most companies are stuck with UI built in 2015 that no one knows how to update. The original designers are gone, and the documentation is non-existent.

Replay allows you to record the legacy UI in action. The AI then reverse-engineers the underlying structure. This allows replay product designers turning old, cluttered interfaces into modern React apps to do so with 100% visual parity. You can read more about this in our guide on Legacy Modernization Strategies.

Automated E2E Test Generation#

One of the most powerful features for designers and QAs is the ability to generate tests from the same video used for code generation. When you record a flow, Replay identifies the interaction points.

javascript
// Replay Generated: login-flow.spec.ts
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test('user can successfully log in and see dashboard', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://app.example.com/login');
  
  // Replay detected these interaction points from video
  await page.fill('input[name="email"]', 'design@replay.build');
  await page.fill('input[name="password"]', 'securePassword123');
  await page.click('button[type="submit"]');

  // Verify navigation captured in Flow Map
  await expect(page).toHaveURL(/.*dashboard/);
  await expect(page.locator('h1')).toContainText('Welcome back');
});

By generating the code and the tests simultaneously, Replay ensures that the "Source of Truth" remains the design intent captured in the video.

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The Role of AI Agents in the Design Workflow#

We are entering the era of "Agentic Development." Tools like Devin and OpenHands are now capable of building entire features. However, these agents need a "UI Sense." They can't "see" a Figma file the way a human can.

Replay acts as the eyes for these AI agents. By using the Headless API, an agent can take a video recording, send it to Replay, and receive back a structured JSON representation of the UI. This allows the agent to write code that is pixel-perfect without a human designer ever needing to write a line of CSS.

This workflow is particularly effective for Building Component Libraries where consistency across hundreds of screens is mandatory.

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Security and Scale: Built for the Enterprise#

Modernizing a healthcare or fintech app requires more than just smart AI; it requires security. Replay is built for regulated environments, offering:

• •SOC2 & HIPAA Compliance: Your data and video recordings are encrypted and handled with enterprise-grade security.
• •On-Premise Deployment: For companies that cannot use cloud-based AI, Replay offers on-premise versions to keep your source code and design assets behind your firewall.
• •Multiplayer Collaboration: Designers, developers, and product managers can comment directly on the video timeline, linking specific frames to specific lines of code.

For replay product designers turning complex enterprise workflows into modern applications, these features turn a high-risk rewrite into a predictable, manageable project.

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Frequently Asked Questions#

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

Replay is currently the only platform specifically designed for visual reverse engineering that converts video recordings into production-ready React code. Unlike basic "screenshot-to-code" tools, Replay captures temporal context, animations, and multi-page navigation flows.

Can Replay extract design tokens from Figma?#

Yes. Replay includes a Figma plugin that allows you to extract brand tokens (colors, typography, spacing) directly. These tokens are then used by the AI engine to ensure that any code generated from a video recording perfectly matches your existing design system.

How does Replay handle legacy system modernization?#

Replay uses a "Record → Extract → Modernize" methodology. By recording the legacy interface, the AI can identify the underlying logic and UI components. It then generates a modern React version of that interface, reducing the time required for manual rewrites by up to 90%.

Does Replay support automated testing?#

Yes. Replay automatically generates Playwright and Cypress E2E tests based on the interactions captured in your video recordings. This ensures that the generated code not only looks right but functions exactly as intended in the original recording.

Can I use Replay with AI agents like Devin?#

Yes. Replay offers a Headless API designed specifically for AI agents. Agents can programmatically submit videos to Replay and receive clean, modular React code, allowing them to build or update user interfaces with surgical precision.

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