How to change my mysql root password back to empty?

Question

When I'm working locally, I don't really need to enter my password to access my database. I changed my root password when I first installed mysql, but I don't know how to change my password back. What should I do?

Answer 1

Rather than removing the password (which may have unpleasant consequences in the future if you happen to expose that server to the wilds), put the current password (and your username) into ~/.my.cnf (or presumably some equivalent location in Windows) that looks like this:

[client]
user = root
password = s3kr1t

This gives MySQL the awesome ability to autologin using the credentials provided, without leaving you wide open for unpleasantness in the future.

Answer 2

To change the root password to newpassword:

 mysqladmin -u root -p'oldpassword' password 'newpassword'

To change it so root doesn't require a password:

 mysqladmin -u root -p'oldpassword' password ''

Note: I think it matters that there isn't a space between the -p and 'oldpassword' but I may be wrong about that

Answer 3

1. Stop mysqld and restart it with the --skip-grant-tables option.
2. Connect to it using just mysql.

3. Change the root password:

   UPDATE mysql.user SET Password=PASSWORD('MyNewPass') WHERE User='root';

   FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

For reference: the official mysql docs.