---
title: How to reset a mySQL password?
description: "If you have lost your root user password for MySQL, you can reset it with the following procedure: 1. Take down the mysqld server by sending a kill (not kill -9) to the mysqld server. The pid is stored in…"
url: "https://getsimple.net/knowledgebase/how-to-reset-a-mysql-password/"
updated: "2021-07-12"
category: Cloud Server Management / MySQL
---

# How to reset a mySQL password?

If you have lost your root user password for MySQL, you can reset it with the following procedure:

1. Take down the mysqld server by sending a kill (not kill -9) to the mysqld server. The pid is stored in a .pid file, which is normally in the MySQL database directory:
    Example: *shell> kill `cat /your-mysql-data-directory/hostname.pid`*
    In Red Hat you can also stop the databse with:
    Example: *shell> service mysqld stop*
    You must be either the Unix root user or the same user the server runs as to do this.
2. Restart mysqld with the --skip-grant-tables option.
3. Connect to the mysqld server with
    **Option 1**:mysql -h hostname mysql and change the password with a GRANT command.
    See MySQL website: [MySQL: 7.35 GRANT and REVOKE Syntax](http://www.mysql.com/doc/G/R/GRANT.html)
    **Option 2**: *shell> mysqladmin -h hostname -u user password 'new password'*
4. Load the privilege tables with: *"shell> mysqladmin -h hostname flush-privileges”* or with the SQL command *"mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;"*.

*Note: Note that after you started mysqld with --skip-grant-tables, any usage of GRANT commands will give you an Unknown command error until you have executed FLUSH PRIVILEGES.*