Forgotten MySQL or MariaDB root password

Try without a password first

Often you do not need the root password at all: the server administrator logs in to the database through sudo.

• MariaDB — on any system: sudo mariadb.
• MySQL on Ubuntu: sudo mysql. If root has already been switched to password login, log in with the maintenance account: sudo mysql --defaults-file=/etc/mysql/debian.cnf.
• MySQL on AlmaLinux straight after installation: root has an empty password, and you can log in with mysql -u root. Set a password straight away: sudo mysql_secure_installation.

Once you are in, set a new password with a single command:

ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new-password';

For your website, create a separate user with access to one database — the website does not need the root password.

Resetting the password in MariaDB

If you cannot log in at all, start the database for a couple of minutes without password checks and without network access:

sudo systemctl stop mariadb
sudo systemctl set-environment MYSQLD_OPTS="--skip-grant-tables --skip-networking"
sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo mariadb

Then, inside the client:

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
ALTER USER root@localhost IDENTIFIED VIA unix_socket OR mysql_native_password USING PASSWORD('new-password');
exit

This lets root log in both through sudo and with a password. Then return to normal start-up:

sudo systemctl stop mariadb
sudo systemctl unset-environment MYSQLD_OPTS
sudo systemctl start mariadb

Resetting the password in MySQL on AlmaLinux

sudo systemctl stop mysqld
sudo -u mysql /usr/libexec/mysqld --skip-grant-tables --skip-networking &
mysql -u root

Then, inside the client:

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new-password';
exit

Stop the temporary instance and start the database as usual:

mysqladmin -u root -p shutdown
sudo systemctl start mysqld

For more details and other methods, see the MySQL documentation.