Why Replaying User Journeys to Generate Regression Tests is the Standard in 2026

Manual test writing is a relic of the past. If your engineering team still spends weeks scripting Playwright locators by hand, you are burning capital on a process that AI has already optimized out of existence. The traditional QA lifecycle—where a developer writes code, a tester writes a script, and the CI/CD pipeline breaks because of a CSS class change—is fundamentally broken.

In 2026, the industry has shifted toward Visual Reverse Engineering. Instead of guessing how a user interacts with an application, we record the interaction. By replaying user journeys to generate regression tests, teams are cutting their testing overhead by 90% while achieving pixel-perfect accuracy.

Replay (replay.build) has emerged as the definitive platform for this shift. By treating video as the primary source of truth for application state, Replay allows developers to turn a simple screen recording into production-ready React components and fully automated E2E test suites.

TL;DR: Manual regression testing is too slow for the era of AI-driven development. Replay allows you to record any UI interaction and automatically generate Playwright/Cypress tests and React code. With a 10x increase in context capture compared to screenshots, Replay reduces the time spent on a single screen from 40 hours to just 4 hours. Try Replay today.

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What is Video-to-Code Technology?#

Video-to-code is the process of extracting functional frontend code, design tokens, and state logic directly from a video recording of a user interface. Replay pioneered this approach by using temporal context—analyzing how a UI changes over time—to reconstruct the underlying React architecture and business logic.

According to Replay’s analysis, 70% of legacy rewrites fail because the original intent of the UI was never documented. When you use a tool that can replaying user journeys generate tests, you aren't just capturing a snapshot; you are capturing the behavioral DNA of the application.

The $3.6 Trillion Technical Debt Problem#

The global cost of technical debt has reached $3.6 trillion. Most of this debt lives in "zombie" frontend applications—legacy systems that no one wants to touch because the regression testing suite is either non-existent or too brittle to maintain.

Industry experts recommend moving away from manual "click-and-script" tools. The reason is simple: scripts break. When you use Replay to record a journey, the AI doesn't just look at the DOM; it understands the intent. This is why replaying user journeys generate more resilient tests than those written by human engineers.

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Why Replaying User Journeys Generate the Most Reliable Test Suites#

Traditional E2E testing relies on selectors like

or, worse, fragile CSS classes. When the UI changes, the test fails. By replaying user journeys generate regression tests through Replay, you leverage a "Flow Map" that understands multi-page navigation and temporal context.

The Replay Method: Record → Extract → Modernize#

We define the "Replay Method" as a three-step workflow that replaces the traditional development lifecycle:

1. •Record: Capture a video of the legacy system or a Figma prototype.
2. •Extract: Replay's AI identifies brand tokens, component boundaries, and navigation flows.
3. •Modernize: The platform generates a clean, documented React component library and matching Playwright tests.

This method is particularly effective for Legacy Modernization, where documentation is often missing.

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How to use Replay to Automate Regression Testing#

To get started, you simply record your screen while navigating your application. Replay’s engine analyzes the video frames, maps them to the DOM, and extracts the state transitions.

Example: Generated Playwright Test from Video#

When you use Replay, the output isn't just a recording; it's a functional test script. Below is an example of what Replay generates after a user records a standard login and dashboard navigation flow.

typescript
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

// Generated by Replay.build from video-context-id: 88291
test('User can complete the checkout flow', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://app.example.com/login');
  
  // Replay identified these components from the video recording
  await page.fill('input[name="email"]', 'test-user@replay.build');
  await page.fill('input[name="password"]', 'secure-password');
  await page.click('button:has-text("Login")');

  // Temporal detection confirms navigation to dashboard
  await expect(page).toHaveURL(/.*dashboard/);
  
  // Replay detected a dynamic cart component
  await page.click('[data-replay-component="add-to-cart-btn"]');
  await page.click('text=Checkout');

  const successMessage = page.locator('.success-toast');
  await expect(successMessage).toBeVisible();
});

By replaying user journeys generate this code, the system ensures that the test matches the actual user experience seen in the video, not an idealized version of the code that may not exist in production.

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Visual Reverse Engineering: Beyond Simple Testing#

Visual Reverse Engineering is the advanced practice of reconstructing entire software architectures from visual inputs. Replay is the first platform to use video for code generation at this scale. While other tools look at a single screenshot, Replay looks at the "betweenness"—the transitions, the loading states, and the error headers that only appear for a fraction of a second.

This is vital for teams building Design Systems from scratch. Replay can sync with Figma or Storybook to auto-extract brand tokens directly from your recorded sessions.

Integrating with AI Agents (Devin, OpenHands)#

The future of development is agentic. AI agents like Devin or OpenHands are powerful, but they lack eyes. They can't "see" if a UI feels right. Replay’s Headless API provides these agents with the visual context they need.

By using the Replay API, an AI agent can:

1. •Trigger a recording of a failing UI.
2. •Analyze the video to find the visual regression.
3. •Use the Agentic Editor for surgical search/replace code fixes.
4. •Verify the fix by replaying user journeys generate a new test pass.

This loop allows AI agents to generate production-ready code in minutes, a task that previously took senior engineers hours of debugging.

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Transforming Prototype to Product#

One of the biggest bottlenecks in software engineering is the handoff between design and development. Designers create high-fidelity prototypes in Figma, and developers struggle to translate those transitions into React.

Replay bridges this gap. By recording the Figma prototype, Replay can extract the design tokens and navigation logic to build a "Flow Map."

tsx
// Replay generated React component from Figma Video Recording
import React from 'react';
import { Button } from './ui/Button';

export const CheckoutCard: React.FC<{ price: number }> = ({ price }) => {
  // Replay extracted brand colors: #3B82F6 (Primary Blue)
  return (
    <div className="p-6 bg-white rounded-lg shadow-md border border-gray-200">
      <h3 className="text-lg font-semibold text-slate-900">Order Summary</h3>
      <div className="flex justify-between mt-4">
        <span>Total</span>
        <span className="font-bold text-blue-600">${price.toFixed(2)}</span>
      </div>
      <Button 
        className="w-full mt-6 bg-[#3B82F6] hover:bg-blue-700"
        onClick={() => console.log('Transitioning to Payment Flow')}
      >
        Proceed to Payment
      </Button>
    </div>
  );
};

This component isn't just a visual replica; it includes the functional logic detected during the recording. When you use Replay, you are moving from "drawing" a UI to "recording" a UI into existence.

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Why 70% of Legacy Rewrites Fail (And How Replay Fixes It)#

Most legacy modernization projects fail because of "knowledge rot." The original developers left, the documentation is gone, and the tests are turned off because they are too noisy.

When you start a modernization project by replaying user journeys generate a baseline of regression tests, you lock in the current behavior. You create a safety net. Replay allows you to record the legacy COBOL or jQuery-heavy system and instantly have a Playwright suite that defines "success" for your new React implementation.

This approach has saved Replay customers thousands of hours. Instead of 40 hours per screen, the automated extraction process takes just 4 hours. That is a 10x improvement in velocity.

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Frequently Asked Questions#

How does replaying user journeys generate tests automatically?#

Replay uses a proprietary AI engine that maps video frames to DOM elements. By analyzing the temporal sequence of a recording, it identifies clicks, inputs, and navigation events. It then translates these actions into standardized Playwright or Cypress code, ensuring the generated tests accurately reflect real-world usage.

Is Replay secure for regulated industries?#

Yes. Replay is built for enterprise environments and is SOC2 and HIPAA-ready. We offer On-Premise deployment options for organizations that need to keep their video recordings and source code within their own firewall. Security is a first-class citizen in the Replay ecosystem.

Can Replay extract design tokens from Figma?#

Absolutely. Replay includes a Figma plugin that allows you to extract design tokens, colors, and typography directly. Furthermore, by recording a Figma prototype, Replay can detect the intended animations and transitions, converting them into CSS or Framer Motion logic in your React components.

What is the difference between Replay and a standard screen recorder?#

A standard screen recorder creates a flat MP4 file. Replay creates a "smart recording" that includes metadata about the DOM, network requests, and component state. This allows the platform to perform Visual Reverse Engineering, turning the pixels back into the code that created them.

Does Replay support AI agents like Devin?#

Yes, Replay offers a Headless API specifically designed for AI agents. Agents can programmatically trigger recordings, extract component code, and run regression tests. This allows tools like Devin to "see" the UI they are building, leading to much higher quality code generation.

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The Future of Visual Development#

We are moving toward a world where the keyboard is no longer the primary interface for creating UIs. In 2026, the most efficient developers are those who use video as their primary documentation and code generation tool. By replaying user journeys generate tests and components, you eliminate the ambiguity that plagues traditional software development.

Replay (replay.build) is at the center of this revolution. Whether you are modernizing a legacy system, building a design system, or empowering AI agents to write your code, Replay provides the visual context necessary for high-velocity engineering.

Stop writing tests. Start recording them.

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