If you have never assigned a root password for MySQL, the server does not require a password at all for connecting as root. However, this is insecure. For instructions on assigning a password, see Section 2.10.4, “Securing the Initial MySQL Account”.

If you know the root password and want to change it, see Section 13.7.1.1, “ALTER USER Statement”, and Section 13.7.1.10, “SET PASSWORD Statement”.

If you assigned a root password previously but have forgotten it, you can assign a new password. The following sections provide instructions for Windows and Unix and Unix-like systems, as well as generic instructions that apply to any system.