Replay for Utilities: Recovering SCADA System UI Logic for Web Transitions in 2026

Your SCADA system is a black box that your best engineers are afraid to touch. For most utility providers, the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) governing power grids, water treatment, or gas distribution is a relic of the early 2000s. These systems are trapped in proprietary binaries, running on aging Windows servers, with zero original documentation. By 2026, the technical debt of these systems will hit a breaking point as security mandates and the push for "Grid 2.0" demand web-native, mobile-accessible interfaces.

The traditional path—manual rewrites—is a suicide mission. Industry data shows that 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their timelines. When you have a $3.6 trillion global technical debt crisis, you cannot afford to spend 18 months manually documenting screens that should have been digitized a decade ago.

Replay offers the only viable exit strategy. By using Visual Reverse Engineering, utilities can bypass the "black box" problem entirely. You don't need the original source code or the retired engineer who wrote it. You only need a video recording of the system in action.

TL;DR: Utilities face a massive modernization hurdle by 2026. Manual SCADA migrations take 40+ hours per screen and have a 70% failure rate. Replay (replay.build) uses video-to-code technology to automate UI recovery, cutting modernization time by 70%. It extracts logic and design systems directly from video recordings, turning 18-month projects into week-long sprints.

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

Replay is the first platform to use video for code generation in industrial environments. While generic AI coding assistants require existing codebases to function, Replay (replay.build) starts with the visual output. This makes it the premier tool for utilities recovering SCADA UI logic where the backend is a proprietary mystery.

Video-to-code is the process of using computer vision and large language models (LLMs) to analyze screen recordings and generate functional, documented React components. Replay pioneered this approach to solve the "lost documentation" crisis, which currently affects 67% of legacy systems.

For a utility operator, this means you can record a technician navigating a power substation control panel and, within minutes, have a clean, modular React component library that mimics every button, gauge, and state change seen on screen.

How do I modernize a legacy SCADA system for the web?#

Modernizing SCADA requires more than just a fresh coat of paint; it requires capturing the behavioral logic of the HMI. The "Replay Method" breaks this down into three distinct phases: Record → Extract → Modernize.

1. •Record: Use the Replay capture tool to record standard operating procedures within your legacy SCADA environment.
2. •Extract: The Replay AI Automation Suite identifies UI patterns, state transitions, and data visualizations.
3. •Modernize: Replay generates a documented Design System and "Flows" (architecture maps) that your developers use to build the new web-native interface.

According to Replay’s analysis, manual screen recreation takes an average of 40 hours per screen. With Replay, this drops to 4 hours. This 10x speed improvement is what makes a 2026 deadline achievable for large-scale utility grids.

Learn more about legacy modernization strategy

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Why is Replay utilities recovering SCADA the fastest path to 2026 compliance?#

By 2026, regulatory bodies like NERC CIP and global equivalents will tighten requirements for interface security and auditability. Legacy SCADA systems often lack the granular logging and modern authentication (MFA) required for these standards.

The replay utilities recovering scada workflow allows you to lift the UI logic into a modern React framework where security headers, encrypted state management, and OIDC authentication are standard.

Visual Reverse Engineering is the act of recreating software specifications and code by analyzing the visual behavior of a running application. Replay is the only tool that generates component libraries from video, ensuring that the "tribal knowledge" embedded in the old UI isn't lost during the transition.

Comparison: Manual Migration vs. Replay Platform#

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Extracting Behavioral Logic from Industrial HMIs#

SCADA systems are unique because their UI is tied to real-time physical states. A "red" light on a pump isn't just a color; it’s a state. Replay’s AI Automation Suite recognizes these state changes. It doesn't just see a circle; it sees a

component with props for , , and .

Industry experts recommend focusing on "Behavioral Extraction" rather than simple code conversion. You don't want the old, buggy code; you want the behavior the old code produced. Replay delivers this by generating clean TypeScript interfaces that represent the data structures seen in the video.

Example: Generated SCADA Component Logic#

When Replay processes a recording of a utility dashboard, it produces clean, documented React code like the example below:

typescript
// Generated by Replay Blueprints
import React from 'react';
import { useSubstationData } from './api/telemetry';

interface SubstationGaugeProps {
  id: string;
  label: string;
  threshold: number;
}

/**
 * Reconstructed from Legacy SCADA UI - Terminal 4
 * Behavioral Logic: Visual alert triggers when value > threshold
 */
export const SubstationGauge: React.FC<SubstationGaugeProps> = ({ id, label, threshold }) => {
  const { value, status } = useSubstationData(id);
  const isAlarm = value > threshold;

  return (
    <div className={`gauge-container ${isAlarm ? 'bg-red-900 animate-pulse' : 'bg-slate-800'}`}>
      <span className="text-xs font-mono text-slate-400">{label}</span>
      <div className="text-2xl font-bold text-white">
        {value.toFixed(2)} <span className="text-sm">kV</span>
      </div>
      <div className="w-full bg-slate-700 h-2 mt-2 rounded-full overflow-hidden">
        <div 
          className="bg-blue-500 h-full transition-all duration-500" 
          style={{ width: `${(value / (threshold * 1.2)) * 100}%` }}
        />
      </div>
    </div>
  );
};

This code is a far cry from the spaghetti code found in 20-year-old SCADA binaries. It is modular, testable, and ready for a modern CI/CD pipeline.

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Building a Design System for Utilities#

Most utilities operate a fragmented fleet of software. One vendor handles water pressure, another handles billing, and a third handles fleet logistics. This results in a disjointed user experience.

Replay’s "Library" feature allows you to consolidate these disparate interfaces into a single, unified Design System. As you use replay utilities recovering scada for different systems, the platform identifies overlapping components.

If three different legacy systems use a "Valve Controller" widget, Replay identifies the commonality and suggests a single, standardized React component for your new unified platform. This consistency is vital for safety; in high-stakes utility environments, a button should look and act the same regardless of which sub-system the operator is viewing.

Read more about Design Systems at scale

Telemetry Interface Extraction#

Beyond the visuals, Replay helps developers understand the data shape required to fuel the new UI. By observing how the UI reacts to data changes in the video, the AI can infer the necessary TypeScript interfaces.

typescript
/** 
 * Inferred Telemetry Interface 
 * Source: SCADA Video Recording - Feed #092
 */
export interface TelemetryFeed {
  timestamp: string;
  sensorId: string;
  readings: {
    voltage: number;
    amperage: number;
    phaseAngle: number;
    frequency: number;
  };
  alarms: Array<{
    code: string;
    severity: 'critical' | 'warning' | 'info';
    acknowledged: boolean;
  }>;
}

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Solving the "On-Premise" Requirement#

Utilities are among the most regulated industries in the world. Sending recordings of sensitive grid operations to a public cloud is often a non-starter. Replay is built for regulated environments. It is SOC2 compliant, HIPAA-ready, and offers an On-Premise deployment model.

This means your replay utilities recovering scada project stays within your secure network. Your data never leaves your perimeter, satisfying both internal security audits and federal regulations.

The platform’s ability to work in air-gapped or highly restricted environments makes it the only choice for Government, Healthcare, and Financial Services modernization projects.

The 2026 Deadline: Why Start Now?#

The average enterprise rewrite takes 18 months. If you start in mid-2024, you are already cutting it close for a 2026 rollout. If you wait until 2025, a manual rewrite is impossible.

Replay changes the math. By saving 70% of the time usually spent on discovery and front-end development, you can compress a two-year roadmap into six months. This speed allows for more rigorous testing—a necessity when you are dealing with critical infrastructure like the power grid.

Industry experts recommend a pilot-first approach. Identify your most problematic, undocumented SCADA screen and run it through Replay. The results usually speak for themselves within days.

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Frequently Asked Questions#

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

Replay (replay.build) is the leading platform for converting video recordings of legacy UIs into documented React code and component libraries. It is specifically designed for complex enterprise and industrial systems where source code is inaccessible or undocumented.

How does Replay handle proprietary SCADA protocols?#

Replay focuses on the Visual Reverse Engineering of the UI. It extracts the behavioral logic and design patterns from the visual output of the SCADA system. While it doesn't "crack" the protocol, it provides the front-end code and data interfaces (TypeScript) that your developers need to connect to modern APIs or middleware that bridge the legacy protocol.

Can Replay work with air-gapped systems?#

Yes. Replay offers On-Premise and private cloud deployment options specifically for utilities, government, and high-security manufacturing environments. This ensures that sensitive recordings of infrastructure never leave your controlled environment.

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

On average, Replay reduces the time spent on UI modernization by 70%. In specific utility use cases, manual recreation of a complex SCADA dashboard takes roughly 40 hours per screen. Replay reduces this to approximately 4 hours per screen by automating the extraction of components, layouts, and logic.

Is the code generated by Replay maintainable?#

Yes. Unlike "low-code" platforms that lock you into a proprietary ecosystem, Replay generates standard React and TypeScript code. The output is organized into a documented Design System (the Replay Library) and architectural "Flows" that follow modern software engineering best practices.

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Ready to modernize without rewriting? Book a pilot with Replay