How to convert a plain object into an ES6 Map?

Question

Yes, the Map constructor takes an array of key-value pairs.

Object.entries is a new Object static method available in ES2017 (19.1.2.5).

const map = new Map(Object.entries({foo: 'bar'}));

map.get('foo'); // 'bar'

It's currently implemented in Firefox 46+ and Edge 14+ and newer versions of Chrome

If you need to support older environments and transpilation is not an option for you, use a polyfill, such as the one recommended by georg:

Object.entries = typeof Object.entries === 'function' ? Object.entries : obj => Object.keys(obj).map(k => [k, obj[k]]);

Do I really have to first convert it into an array of arrays of key-value pairs?

No, an iterator of key-value pair arrays is enough. You can use the following to avoid creating the intermediate array:

function* entries(obj) {
    for (let key in obj)
        yield [key, obj[key]];
}

const map = new Map(entries({foo: 'bar'}));
map.get('foo'); // 'bar'

The answer by Nils describes how to convert objects to maps, which I found very useful. However, the OP was also wondering where this information is in the MDN docs. While it may not have been there when the question was originally asked, it is now on the MDN page for Object.entries() under the heading Converting an Object to a Map which states:

Converting an Object to a Map

The new Map() constructor accepts an iterable of entries. With Object.entries, you can easily convert from Object to Map:

const obj = { foo: 'bar', baz: 42 }; 
const map = new Map(Object.entries(obj));
console.log(map); // Map { foo: "bar", baz: 42 }

ES6

convert object to map:

const objToMap = (o) => new Map(Object.entries(o));

convert map to object:

const mapToObj = (m) => [...m].reduce( (o,v)=>{ o[v[0]] = v[1]; return o; },{} )

Note: the mapToObj function assumes map keys are strings (will fail otherwise)

const myMap = new Map(
    Object
        .keys(myObj)
        .map(
            key => [key, myObj[key]]
        )
)

Alternatively you can use the lodash toPairs method:

const _ = require('lodash');
const map = new Map(_.toPairs({foo: 'bar'}));