How to Reset a Forgotten MySQL Root Password

1. Modify MySQL Configuration File

Open the MySQL configuration file: my.ini on Windows (located in the installation directory) or my.cnf on macOS/Linux (usually /etc/my.cnf ). Add skip-grant-tables under the [mysqld] section to bypass authentication.

Note

If the configuration file does not exist on macOS, create /etc/my.cnf with the following content:

[client]
default-character-set=utf8
[mysqld]
bind-address = 127.0.0.1
character-set-server=utf8
skip-grant-tables

2. Restart MySQL

After saving the changes, restart the MySQL service so the new settings take effect.

Windows:

net stop mysql
net start mysql

Linux:

service mysql restart

macOS: restart via the graphical interface (as shown in the original screenshots).

3. Set a New Password

Once MySQL is running with skip-grant-tables , connect without a password:

mysql -u root -p

When prompted for a password, simply press Enter. Then execute the following SQL statements to set a new root password:

update user set password=password('new_password') where user='root';
flush privileges;
quit

Note

If you encounter the error ERROR 1290 (HY000): The MySQL server is running with the --skip-grant-tables option so it cannot execute this statement , first run flush privileges and then repeat the password‑setting commands.

Finally

After the new password is set, remove the skip-grant-tables line from the configuration file and restart MySQL again. The server will now require the new password for normal access.