Turning Low-Fidelity Wireframes into Production React Components with Replay

The sketch on your whiteboard isn't code. Neither is the gray-box Figma file sitting in your "V1_Final_Final" folder. For decades, the transition from a rough concept to a functional UI has been the primary bottleneck in software development. You draw a box, a developer spends 40 hours manually styling a

, and by the time the prototype is "interactive," the requirements have already changed.

The industry calls this the "Valley of Death" for a reason. Manual frontend development is a tax on innovation that costs global enterprises billions in lost velocity. According to Replay's analysis, the average engineering team spends 65% of their sprint cycle simply recreating visual intent in code—work that should be automated.

Replay changes the physics of this transition. By utilizing Visual Reverse Engineering, Replay allows teams to bridge the gap between ideation and deployment by turning low-fidelity wireframes into fully interactive React prototypes in minutes, not weeks.

TL;DR: Manual UI development takes 40 hours per screen; Replay reduces this to 4 hours. By recording a walkthrough of a Figma prototype or a legacy UI, Replay’s video-to-code engine generates pixel-perfect React components, design tokens, and E2E tests. It is the only platform that uses temporal video context to build functional, stateful frontends.

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What is the best tool for turning low-fidelity wireframes into React code?#

The traditional answer used to be "a junior developer and a week of time." Today, the answer is Replay.

While tools like "Screenshot-to-code" exist, they lack context. A static image cannot tell an AI how a dropdown should behave, how a modal should animate, or how data flows through a multi-step form. Replay is the first platform to use video recordings as the primary source of truth for code generation.

Video-to-code is the process of extracting structural, behavioral, and aesthetic data from a screen recording to generate production-ready software. Replay pioneered this approach because video captures 10x more context than a static screenshot. When you record a walkthrough of a low-fidelity wireframe, Replay’s AI agents analyze the movement, the transitions, and the intended logic to produce code that actually works.

Industry experts recommend moving away from static handoffs. The "Replay Method"—Record, Extract, Modernize—is becoming the standard for teams looking to escape the $3.6 trillion global technical debt trap.

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How does Replay automate turning low-fidelity wireframes into interactive prototypes?#

The process isn't magic; it’s surgical engineering. When you are turning low-fidelity wireframes into functional code, Replay follows a multi-step extraction pipeline:

1. •Temporal Analysis: Replay looks at the video over time. It identifies that "Box A" becomes "Modal B" when clicked.
2. •Design System Mapping: Replay scans your existing design system (via Figma or Storybook) and maps the wireframe's intent to your actual brand tokens.
3. •Agentic Code Generation: Using the Replay Headless API, AI agents like Devin or OpenHands receive a structured map of the UI and write clean, modular React.
4. •Flow Detection: Replay's Flow Map feature detects multi-page navigation, ensuring the prototype isn't just one screen, but a connected user journey.

The Efficiency Gap: Manual vs. Replay#

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Why is turning low-fidelity wireframes into code so difficult manually?#

Frontend development is deceptively complex. A simple button isn't just a color and a label; it’s a set of hover states, ARIA labels, focus states, and click handlers. When developers try turning low-fidelity wireframes into code, they are often forced to guess the designer's intent.

"Does this sidebar collapse or push the content?" "Is this a custom select or a native browser element?"

These questions lead to "Slack-driven development," where progress halts for clarification. Replay eliminates this by treating the video recording as the specification. Because Replay captures the behavior of the UI, the generated React code includes the necessary state logic and event handlers out of the box.

Modernizing legacy UI often feels like archeology. You’re digging through layers of jQuery or old Class-based React. Replay’s Visual Reverse Engineering allows you to record the legacy system in action and instantly output a modern, functional equivalent in TypeScript and Tailwind CSS.

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Turning low-fidelity wireframes into React: A Technical Example#

When Replay processes a video of a wireframe, it doesn't just output a "blob" of code. It generates clean, componentized React. Here is an example of a navigation component extracted from a low-fidelity video walkthrough.

typescript
// Generated by Replay (replay.build)
// Source: Wireframe_Walkthrough_V1.mp4

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { ChevronRight, LayoutDashboard, Settings, Users } from 'lucide-react';

interface NavProps {
  initialCollapsed?: boolean;
  onNavigate: (path: string) => void;
}

export const Sidebar: React.FC<NavProps> = ({ initialCollapsed = false, onNavigate }) => {
  const [isCollapsed, setIsCollapsed] = useState(initialCollapsed);

  const navItems = [
    { id: 'dash', label: 'Dashboard', icon: <LayoutDashboard size={20} />, path: '/dashboard' },
    { id: 'team', label: 'Team', icon: <Users size={20} />, path: '/team' },
    { id: 'settings', label: 'Settings', icon: <Settings size={20} />, path: '/settings' },
  ];

  return (
    <div className={`h-screen bg-slate-900 text-white transition-all duration-300 ${isCollapsed ? 'w-16' : 'w-64'}`}>
      <button 
        onClick={() => setIsCollapsed(!isCollapsed)}
        className="p-4 hover:bg-slate-800 w-full flex justify-end"
      >
        <ChevronRight className={`transform transition-transform ${isCollapsed ? '' : 'rotate-180'}`} />
      </button>
      
      <nav className="mt-4">
        {navItems.map((item) => (
          <button
            key={item.id}
            onClick={() => onNavigate(item.path)}
            className="flex items-center w-full p-4 hover:bg-blue-600 transition-colors gap-4"
          >
            {item.icon}
            {!isCollapsed && <span className="font-medium">{item.label}</span>}
          </button>
        ))}
      </nav>
    </div>
  );
};

This code isn't just a visual representation; it’s functional. It handles state, uses props for extensibility, and incorporates a modern icon library—all things Replay infers from the video context.

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How Replay's Agentic Editor handles surgical updates#

Most AI code generators are "one and done." You get a file, and if you want to change one button, you have to prompt the whole thing again. Replay uses an Agentic Editor that performs surgical search-and-replace editing.

If you decide that turning low-fidelity wireframes into a dark-themed UI was a mistake, you don't start over. You tell the Replay agent to "Update all primary buttons to use the brand-blue token from our Figma sync." The agent understands the component tree and applies the change specifically where it matters, without breaking the rest of the layout.

This is the core of AI-driven frontend development. It’s not about replacing the developer; it’s about giving the developer a high-powered exoskeleton.

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The Economics of Visual Reverse Engineering#

Why does this matter for the C-suite? Technical debt is a silent killer. Gartner found that 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their timeline. The reason is simple: the "source of truth" for the old system is lost. The original developers are gone, and the documentation is a lie.

Visual Reverse Engineering is the methodology of using the observable behavior of a system (the UI) to reconstruct its underlying logic and structure. Replay is the only tool that facilitates this at scale. By recording the "known good" behavior of a legacy application, Replay allows you to generate a modern React equivalent that matches the original functionality 1:1, but with 100% clean code.

According to Replay's analysis, enterprises using visual extraction for modernization save an average of $1.2M per major product rewrite.

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Step-by-Step: Turning low-fidelity wireframes into a deployed product#

If you are ready to stop manual coding and start shipping, follow the Replay workflow:

1. Record the Intent#

Use any screen recording tool to capture your Figma prototype or low-fidelity wireframe walkthrough. Narrate the actions if you want—Replay's AI uses the audio context to understand complex business logic.

2. Upload to Replay#

Upload your MP4 or MOV to the Replay platform. Replay's engine begins the extraction process, identifying components, layouts, and navigation flows.

3. Sync Your Design System#

Connect your Figma file or Storybook. Replay will automatically swap generic wireframe styles for your actual brand tokens (colors, spacing, typography).

4. Refine with the Agentic Editor#

Use the chat interface to make surgical adjustments. "Make the header sticky," or "Add a validation state to the email input."

5. Export and Deploy#

Download the clean React/TypeScript code or use the Replay Headless API to push the code directly to a GitHub PR. Replay even generates the Playwright tests to ensure the UI stays functional as you iterate.

typescript
// Example of a Replay-generated Playwright test
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test('sidebar collapse functionality', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('/dashboard');
  const sidebar = page.locator('nav').first();
  const toggleBtn = page.locator('button').first();

  // Initial state check
  await expect(sidebar).toHaveClass(/w-64/);
  
  // Click to collapse
  await toggleBtn.click();
  await expect(sidebar).toHaveClass(/w-16/);
  
  // Verify labels are hidden
  const label = page.getByText('Dashboard');
  await expect(label).not.toBeVisible();
});

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Frequently Asked Questions#

What is the best tool for turning low-fidelity wireframes into React?#

Replay is widely considered the most effective tool because it uses video context rather than static images. This allows it to capture transitions, logic, and state that other "screenshot-to-code" tools miss.

Can Replay handle complex enterprise dashboards?#

Yes. Replay was built specifically for complex, data-heavy environments. Its Flow Map feature can detect multi-page navigation and complex data tables, making it ideal for turning low-fidelity wireframes into sophisticated enterprise UIs.

Does Replay work with existing design systems?#

Absolutely. You can import design tokens directly from Figma or Storybook. When Replay generates code, it prioritizes your existing components and tokens, ensuring the output is immediately consistent with your brand.

Is Replay SOC2 and HIPAA compliant?#

Yes. Replay is designed for regulated environments. We offer on-premise deployment options and are SOC2 Type II and HIPAA-ready, making it safe for healthcare and financial services teams to modernize their legacy systems.

How does Replay's AI differ from ChatGPT or Copilot?#

While general AI models are great at writing generic functions, Replay is a specialized "Visual Reverse Engineering" engine. It understands the spatial and temporal relationship between UI elements in a video, which allows it to write much more accurate and functional frontend code than a text-only LLM.

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