Convert a Map to an Array of Objects in JavaScript

Convert a Map to an Array of Objects #

To convert a Map to an array of objects:

1. Call the Array.from() method, passing it the Map as the first parameter and a function as the second.
2. On each iteration of the function, return an object containing the current key-value pair.
3. The Array.from method creates a new array from an iterable object, such as a Map.

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const map = new Map();

map.set('name', 'Bob');
map.set('country', 'Chile');

const arr = Array.from(map, ([key, value]) => {
  return {[key]: value};
});

// 👇️ [{name: 'Bob'}, {country: 'Chile'}]
console.log(arr);

We passed the following parameters to the Array.from method:

1. an iterable object that we want to convert to an array
2. a map function that gets called with each element in the array

If we call the Array.from method without the map function, we get a two dimensional array.

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const map = new Map();

map.set('name', 'Bob');
map.set('country', 'Chile');

// 👇️ [['name', 'Bob'], ['country', 'Chile']]
const arr = Array.from(map);
console.log(arr);

The function we passed to the Array.from method gets invoked with each element in the array.

In our arrow function, we use the square bracket [] syntax to destructure the elements of the array.

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const [a, b] = ['hello', 'world'];

console.log(a); // 👉️ hello
console.log(b); // 👉️ world

An easy way to think about this is - we are grabbing the value of the first array element and assigning it to the variable named a.

Whatever we return from this function gets added to the return value from Array.from.

We use the dynamic property key syntax [] to set the key of the object to the actual key of the Map.

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const arr = Array.from(map, ([key, value]) => {
  // 👇️
  return {[key]: value};
});

A simple way to think about the dynamic key assignment is - we are basically evaluating the variable key and setting the object's key to the result.

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const a = 'name';

const obj = {
  [a]: 'Bob',
};

console.log(obj); // 👉️ {name: 'Bob'}

Once the function iterates over all of the array elements, we have the complete array of objects.

Here's an example that achieves the same goal, however is a bit more readable if you're not familiar with how Array.from works.

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const map = new Map();

map.set('name', 'Bob');
map.set('country', 'Chile');

// 👇️ [['name', 'Bob'], ['country', 'Chile']]
const arr = Array.from(map);
console.log(arr);

// 👇️ [{name: 'Bob', country: 'Chile'}]
const arrOfObj = arr.map(([key, value]) => {
  return {[key]: value};
});
console.log(arrOfObj);

Instead of passing the Array.map function as a parameter to the Array.from method, we use it separately.

Everything works in the exact same way as the previous code snippet.

Further Reading #

• How to get the Length of a Set in JavaScript
• How to convert Map Values to an Array in JavaScript