reset mysql root password from command line Unix/linux

MySQL
MySQL is a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases.

Installation:

[root@server ~]# yum install mysql-server mysql php-mysql 
[root@server ~]# rpm -qa|grep mysql 
php-mysql-5.1.6-40.el5_9 
mysql-5.0.95-5.el5_9 
mysql-server-5.0.95-5.el5_9 

Steps to reset mysql password:
Step 1: Stop mysql server

[root@server ~]# service mysqld stop
Stopping mysqld:                               [ OK ]
OR
[root@server ~]# /etc/init.d/mysqld stop 
Stopping mysqld:                               [ OK ]

Step 2: Start mysql configuration, Execute the command as mysql safemode:

[root@server ~]# mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables & 

Step 3: Replace old password with the new one from mysql command prompt.

mysql> update user set password=PASSWORD("newpassword") where User='root'; FLUSH PRIVILEGES; exit;

Step 4: Restart mysql server.

[root@server ~]# service mysqld restart

Step 5: Access mysql by using new password

[root@server ~]# mysql -u root -p
Enter password:

That’s it 🙂