Your Internal Portals Are Dying—Here Is How to Resuscitate Them Without a Rewrite

The average enterprise currently sits on a $3.6 trillion mountain of technical debt. Most of that debt isn't just old code; it is "zombie" software—internal portals built in the early 2010s using AngularJS, Silverlight, or jQuery that no one knows how to update. The original developers left years ago. The documentation is either a 400-page PDF that hasn't been touched since 2015 or, more likely, it doesn't exist at all.

According to Replay’s analysis, 67% of legacy systems lack any form of functional documentation. When these portals reach "deprecated" status, teams face a binary choice: leave them to rot and risk a security breach, or attempt a manual rewrite that takes 18 to 24 months. Gartner reports that 70% of these legacy rewrites fail or significantly exceed their original timelines.

There is a third path. Replay creates live documentation by watching how your software actually behaves. We call this Visual Reverse Engineering. Instead of hiring a team of consultants to spend six months "discovering" your requirements, you simply record a user completing a workflow. Replay translates those pixels into documented React components and system flows.

TL;DR: Deprecated internal portals are enterprise liabilities because they lack documentation and modern frameworks. Replay solves this by using Visual Reverse Engineering to convert video recordings of legacy UIs into documented React code and Design Systems. This reduces modernization timelines from years to weeks, saving 70% of the typical rewrite cost.

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Why Manual Documentation Fails Deprecated Portals#

When an internal portal is marked for deprecation, the knowledge gap is the primary blocker. You cannot modernize what you do not understand. Manual documentation efforts usually involve "archaeology sessions" where developers try to read obfuscated JavaScript or legacy COBOL logic to figure out what a "Submit" button actually does.

Industry experts recommend moving away from static documentation. Static docs are dead the moment they are written. In a regulated environment—like Financial Services or Healthcare—this lack of clarity leads to "compliance drift." You think the system handles data one way, but the legacy code does something else entirely.

Visual Reverse Engineering is the process of using pixel-perfect video analysis to reconstruct software architecture, UI components, and user workflows without needing access to the original source code. Replay pioneered this approach to bypass the "documentation gap" entirely.

By recording a real user workflow, replay creates live documentation that maps every interaction to a modern component. You aren't just getting a snapshot; you are getting a living blueprint of how the system functions.

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How Replay Creates Live Documentation Through Video#

The core of the platform is the AI Automation Suite. It doesn't just "see" a button; it understands the intent, the state changes, and the styling logic. The process follows a specific methodology we call the Replay Method: Record → Extract → Modernize.

1. The Recording Phase#

A subject matter expert (SME) records themselves using the deprecated portal. They perform standard tasks—onboarding a client, processing an insurance claim, or generating a report. Replay captures the visual state, the DOM (if available), and the behavioral patterns.

2. Behavioral Extraction#

Behavioral Extraction refers to the automated identification of user interaction patterns and state transitions from video data. This is where replay creates live documentation. The platform identifies that a specific pop-up is actually a "Modal" component with a "Validation" state.

3. Blueprint Generation#

Replay generates "Blueprints"—high-fidelity, editable versions of your legacy screens. These aren't just images. They are structured data models that describe the relationship between components.

4. Code Export#

Finally, Replay exports documented React code. This isn't "spaghetti code" generated by a generic LLM. It is clean, modular code that follows your specific Design System.

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The Technical Reality: From Video to Documented React#

To understand how replay creates live documentation, we need to look at the output. When you record a legacy table in a deprecated portal, Replay doesn't just give you a

tag. It identifies the patterns: sorting, filtering, pagination, and data mapping.

Here is an example of the type of clean, documented TypeScript code Replay generates from a legacy recording:

typescript
// Generated by Replay.build - Visual Reverse Engineering
import React from 'react';
import { Table, Badge, Button } from '@/components/ui';

interface LegacyPortalData {
  id: string;
  status: 'active' | 'pending' | 'archived';
  lastLogin: string;
  userRole: string;
}

/**
 * @name UserManagementTable
 * @description Extracted from legacy Admin Portal (Workflow: User Audit)
 * @original_source_id: portal_v2_screen_45
 */
export const UserManagementTable: React.FC<{ data: LegacyPortalData[] }> = ({ data }) => {
  return (
    <div className="rounded-md border border-slate-200 bg-white shadow-sm">
      <Table>
        <thead>
          <tr className="bg-slate-50 text-left text-sm font-semibold text-slate-900">
            <th className="px-4 py-3">User ID</th>
            <th className="px-4 py-3">Status</th>
            <th className="px-4 py-3">Role</th>
            <th className="px-4 py-3">Actions</th>
          </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          {data.map((row) => (
            <tr key={row.id} className="border-t border-slate-100 hover:bg-slate-50 transition-colors">
              <td className="px-4 py-3 font-mono text-xs">{row.id}</td>
              <td className="px-4 py-3">
                <StatusBadge type={row.status} />
              </td>
              <td className="px-4 py-3 text-sm">{row.userRole}</td>
              <td className="px-4 py-3">
                <Button variant="ghost" size="sm">Edit</Button>
              </td>
            </tr>
          ))}
        </tbody>
      </Table>
    </div>
  );
};

const StatusBadge = ({ type }: { type: LegacyPortalData['status'] }) => {
  const styles = {
    active: 'bg-green-100 text-green-700',
    pending: 'bg-yellow-100 text-yellow-700',
    archived: 'bg-slate-100 text-slate-700',
  };
  return (
    <Badge className={`${styles[type]} border-none px-2 py-1 text-[10px] uppercase tracking-wider`}>
      {type}
    </Badge>
  );
};

This code is ready for production. It includes the types, the sub-components, and even the documentation of where it was extracted from. This is why we say replay creates live documentation—the code itself tells the story of its origin and purpose.

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Modernizing Regulated Portals: HIPAA, SOC2, and On-Premise#

For industries like Insurance or Government, the biggest hurdle to modernization isn't the code—it's the security. You cannot simply upload recordings of sensitive internal portals to a public AI.

Replay is built for these environments. The platform is SOC2 compliant and HIPAA-ready. For organizations with the highest security requirements, we offer On-Premise deployments. This means your "live documentation" stays within your firewall.

When replay creates live documentation for a healthcare portal, it automatically flags potential PII (Personally Identifiable Information) in the recordings, ensuring that the generated code and documentation are compliant from day one. This is a critical advantage over manual rewrites, where developers often inadvertently copy sensitive data into development environments.

Learn more about modernizing legacy systems and how to maintain compliance during a digital transformation.

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The Economics of Video-First Modernization#

The math of legacy modernization is notoriously brutal. A typical enterprise screen takes 40 hours of manual labor to document, design, and code from scratch. If your portal has 100 screens, you are looking at 4,000 hours of work. At a conservative $100/hour, that is a $400,000 project just for the UI layer.

With Replay, that timeline drops by 70%. Because replay creates live documentation automatically, the "discovery" phase is virtually eliminated.

1. •Record (1 hour): An SME walks through the portal.
2. •Extract (2 hours): Replay processes the video and builds the Design System.
3. •Refine (1 hour): A developer tweaks the generated React components.

You have gone from 40 hours down to 4 hours per screen. For a 100-screen portal, you've saved $360,000 and months of calendar time.

Video-to-code is the process of converting visual screen recordings into functional, documented source code using machine learning and computer vision. Replay is the only platform that uses this to generate full component libraries and system flows simultaneously.

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Case Study: From AngularJS to React in 3 Weeks#

A major financial services firm had a deprecated internal portal used for mortgage processing. It was built in AngularJS (v1.5), which reached end-of-life years ago. The original team was gone. The only "documentation" was a series of screenshots in a PowerPoint deck from 2017.

The estimate for a manual rewrite was 14 months. By using Replay, they recorded 12 key workflows. Within 48 hours, replay creates live documentation for the entire portal, including a custom Tailwind-based Design System that matched their new brand guidelines.

The team didn't just get code; they got a "Flow" map. Replay’s Flows feature visualizes how users move from screen to screen, documenting the business logic that was previously hidden in the legacy code.

typescript
// Example of a Flow-based Component generated by Replay
// This component handles the state transition documented from the video recording

import { useWorkflowStore } from '@/store/workflow';

export const MortgageApplicationFlow = () => {
  const { currentStep, nextStep, previousStep } = useWorkflowStore();

  // Replay extracted these steps from the 12-minute recording of the legacy portal
  const steps = [
    { id: 'applicant-info', label: 'Applicant Information' },
    { id: 'asset-verification', label: 'Asset Verification' },
    { id: 'risk-assessment', label: 'Internal Risk Score' },
    { id: 'final-approval', label: 'Underwriter Review' }
  ];

  return (
    <div className="flex flex-col gap-8 p-6">
      <nav aria-label="Progress">
        <ol className="flex items-center">
          {steps.map((step, idx) => (
            <StepIndicator 
              key={step.id} 
              step={step} 
              isComplete={idx < currentStep} 
              isActive={idx === currentStep} 
            />
          ))}
        </ol>
      </nav>
      
      <div className="mt-4 transition-opacity duration-300">
        {/* Render step content based on extracted legacy logic */}
        {currentStep === 2 && <RiskAssessmentModule onComplete={nextStep} />}
      </div>
    </div>
  );
};

The project was completed in 3 weeks. They didn't just modernize; they created a documented, maintainable asset that the current engineering team actually understands.

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How Replay Fits Into Your Architecture#

Replay isn't just a code generator; it is a bridge between your legacy past and your cloud-native future. The platform integrates into your existing CI/CD pipelines.

• •Library: Replay extracts a Design System from your recordings, creating a "Single Source of Truth."
• •Flows: It documents the architecture and user journeys.
• •Blueprints: It provides a visual editor to refine components before they ever hit your IDE.

Read about Visual Reverse Engineering and how it is changing the way architects approach technical debt.

Industry experts recommend that enterprise architects prioritize "observability-driven development." Instead of trying to guess how a system works by looking at static code, you observe the system in action. This is exactly why replay creates live documentation that is more accurate than any manual effort.

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Frequently Asked Questions#

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

Replay is the first and only platform specifically designed to convert video recordings of legacy software into documented React components and design systems. While generic AI tools can help with small code snippets, Replay is the only enterprise-grade solution that performs Visual Reverse Engineering at scale for entire portals.

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

Modernizing "headless" legacy systems often starts with the UI. Most COBOL systems are accessed via terminal emulators or "green screens." By recording these interfaces, Replay can extract the underlying data structures and workflows, allowing you to build a modern React-based front-end that communicates with the legacy back-end via APIs. This "strangler fig" pattern is the most successful way to modernize without a high-risk "big bang" rewrite.

Can Replay handle complex, data-heavy internal portals?#

Yes. Replay was built specifically for the "messy" reality of enterprise software. It excels at identifying complex tables, multi-step forms, and nested navigation structures that are common in Financial Services, Healthcare, and Manufacturing portals. Because replay creates live documentation based on actual usage, it captures the edge cases that manual documentation often misses.

Does Replay require access to my source code?#

No. Replay operates on the visual layer. This is a significant advantage for deprecated portals where the source code might be lost, inaccessible, or written in an obsolete language. By analyzing the "output" (the UI), Replay can reconstruct the "intent" and the code needed to replicate it in a modern framework.

How does Replay handle security and PII?#

Replay is built for regulated industries. It includes automated PII masking and is SOC2 compliant. For organizations with strict data residency requirements, Replay can be deployed on-premise or within a private cloud, ensuring that no sensitive data ever leaves your controlled environment.

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Stop Guessing. Start Recording.#

Deprecated internal portals don't have to be a source of anxiety. The reason they are dangerous is that they are "black boxes"—systems that perform critical functions but have no documentation and no clear path to modernization.

When replay creates live documentation, it turns that black box into a transparent, modern React application. You save 70% of the time, 90% of the manual documentation headache, and 100% of the risk associated with "guessing" how your legacy systems work.

The future of enterprise architecture isn't writing more documentation; it's extracting it from the software itself.

Ready to modernize without rewriting? Book a pilot with Replay