Mysql version - mysql Ver 14.14 Distrib 5.7.18, for Linux (x86_64) using EditLine wrapper.
I had forgotten my password and tried many commands online.Also the problem is that grant tables command not working in my terminal.
~$ cat /etc/issue
Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS \n \l
~$ aptitude show mysql-server |grep Version
Version: 5.7.20-0ubuntu0.16.04.1
In file: /etc/mysql/debian.cnf are two important lines:
user = debian-sys-maint
password = <unique password>
Use that user and password to login to mysql:
Once logged in as debian-sys-maint you can:
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
ALTER USER 'root'#'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password';
The following adjustments works for my setup:
$ sudo mkdir /var/run/mysqld
$ sudo chown mysql: /var/run/mysqld
$ sudo kill -9 $(sudo cat /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.pid)
1) Stop the Database Server.
sudo systemctl stop mysql
2) Restarting the Database Server Without Permission Checking. For this following command
sudo mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables --skip-networking &
3) Connect to the database as the root user
mysql -u root
4) Change the Root Password
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
ALTER USER 'root'#'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password';
5) Restart the database server narmally
sudo kill `cat /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.pid`
sudo systemctl start mysql
Now login with new password in database:
mysql -u root -p
Or you can follow the following link:
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-reset-your-mysql-or-mariadb-root-password
I had tried all the approaches but didn't work for me. The following approach worked. I am hopeful that it will work on different versions of ubuntu.
OS info:
mysql --version
mysql Ver 8.0.28-0ubuntu0.20.04.3 for Linux on x86_64 ((Ubuntu))
First, stop MySQL service using command
sudo systemctl stop mysql
Other commands didn't work and here how I start the MySQL server without any permission-checking. To do so, run:
// open the mysql systemd configuration file your default text editor.
// In my case, it is nano editor.
sudo systemctl edit mysql
// Add the following 3 lines
[Service]
ExecStart=
ExecStart=/usr/sbin/mysqld --skip-grant-tables --skip-networking
Reload systemd configuration using command:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
Start MySQL service
sudo systemctl start mysql
Now, connect to MySQL server as root user without password:
sudo mysql -u root
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
mysql> ALTER USER 'root'#'localhost' IDENTIFIED WITH caching_sha2_password BY 'add-newpassword-here';
Revert the modified systemd configuration
sudo systemctl revert mysql
You are all Done.
I'm trying to reinstall mysql on my MAC OS X Yosemite. for this I followed the instruction as mentioned below
sudo rm /usr/local/mysql
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/mysql*
sudo rm -rf /Library/StartupItems/MySQLCOM
sudo rm -rf /Library/PreferencePanes/MySQL*
vim /etc/hostconfig and removed the line MYSQLCOM=-YES-
rm -rf ~/Library/PreferencePanes/MySQL*
sudo rm -rf /Library/Receipts/mysql*
sudo rm -rf /Library/Receipts/MySQL*
sudo rm -rf /var/db/receipts/com.mysql.*
I also tried
brew uninstall mysql
after this I installed mysql using homebrew using command brew install mysql.
After installation when I tried to run mysql -u root It throws the following error
ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'root'#'localhost' (using
password: NO)
I didn't set password for mysql.I don't know what's going wrong.Any suggestion will be appreciated. Thank you
I installed mysql with homebrew and got the same problem as you because mysql has had an existing database with an existing password there. See this article for more details.
$ brew services stop mysql
$ sudo pkill mysqld
$ sudo rm -rf /usr/local/var/mysql/ # NOTE: this will delete your existing database!!!
$ brew postinstall mysql
$ brew services restart mysql
$ mysql -uroot
Now sql generates an aliatory password that appears in the last screen.
sudo mysql -u root -h 127.0.0.1 -p
Enter password: (aliatory password)
we can change it
ALTER USER 'root'#'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new-password';
I have resolved this issue for myself.
Please check my github with this link: https://github.com/LeVanTuan/access_sql
ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'root'#'localhost' (using
password: YES/NO)
Fix bug access denied on macos 10.12 (Sierra)
install mysql (https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/) if already
installed, skip this step
Update password of 'root' to access.
Open Terminal (Launchpad -> Other -> Terminal or (Command + space) ->
Type 'terminal' )
Then type follow below:
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/mysql/bin/
sudo mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables
then, restart Terminal (quit then open again)
then, keep type:
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/mysql/bin/
mysql -u root mysql
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
ALTER USER 'root'#'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY '123456';
\q
sudo /usr/local/mysql/support-files/mysql.server start
extra: start mysql: sudo /usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqld_safe
--skip-grant-tables stop mysql: sudo /usr/local/mysql/support-files/mysql.server stop
I hope it will help you
In my case with a Mac M1 and Mysql 8.0.29-arm64 this answer worked for me:
https://www.codegrepper.com/code-examples/sql/how+to+reset+root+password+in+mysql+m1+mac;
Run the server in safe mode with privilege bypass:
> sudo mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables
In a new Terminal window
> mysql -u root
UPDATE mysql.user SET authentication_string=null WHERE User='root';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit;
Then
> mysql -u root
ALTER USER 'root'#'localhost' IDENTIFIED WITH caching_sha2_password BY 'yourpasswd';
Uninstalling mysql completely and installing with an installer solved the problem for me.
Solution:
Remove mysql complete from your computer
Download and Install mysql without brew. Specify your desire password here or based on the version the installer might mention you a password
set the path for for mysql
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/mysql/bin
Check whether its installed properly mysql --version
mysql -uroot p to login
change the password if required mysql> SET PASSWORD FOR 'root'#'localhost' = PASSWORD('root')
I tried all the commands mentioned in the stackoverflow, but nothing worked. Finally, I deleted every mysql folder in mac and reinstalled mysql. Finally the command
mysql -u root
worked for me. Then atlast, I set password for the mysql root by editing the configuration file.
**on your mac terminal type
mysql -u root -p
You forgot to reset your temporary password. Re-install mysql, use the temporary password to connect to mysql and run:
mysql> SET PASSWORD = PASSWORD('your_new_password');
Update for anyone still not finding a resolution with a new M1 Mac. This completely clears your database FYI!!
First run brew services stop mysql
I found it easier to just open finder and use the got to folder and open /opt/homebrew, under the var folder I deleted the MySQL folder and under locks I deleted the MySQL lock files.
brew install MySQL and followed the install again.
I can't seem to figure out what I have to do in order to install/setup mysql correctly on my new mac.
1.) I installend mysql via homebrew
2.) I'm able to run mysql.server start
3.) If I try to run mysql -u root -p I get this
ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'root'#'localhost' (using password: YES)
I googled and looked through all kind of sources, but can't seem to figure out what to do.
Update:
Update 2:
Let's stop mysqld:
launchctl unload -w ~/Library/LaunchAgents/homebrew.mxcl.mysql.plist
Clean re-installation procedure:
brew remove mysql
brew cleanup
brew doctor
Backup your database before do next step. Then clean data directory up (to avoid manual run extra step mysql_install_db later):
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/var/mysql
The latest step is to install it again from scratch:
brew update
brew install mysql
Then run mysqld and try to login to CLI:
launchctl load -w ~/Library/LaunchAgents/homebrew.mxcl.mysql.plist
mysql -u root
On the 3rd step run it without -p option, which stands for password requirement: Run the command like this mysql -u root. If you need to set a password there is another post about it here.
"No" password and password = '' are different things.
For "no" password:
mysql -u root
For '':
mysql -u root -p
and then enter empty line when prompted
mysql -u root -p root
with a space between -p and root means: (1) prompt for password, then (2) USE root to establish the default database.
mysql -u root -proot
without a space says "my password is 'root'".
I have been following a manual to install a software suite on Ubuntu. I have no knowledge of MySQL at all. I have done the following installations on my Ubuntu.
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mysql-server-5.5
sudo apt-get install mysql-client-5.5
sudo apt-get install mysql-common
sudo apt-get install glade
sudo apt-get install ntp
Then I do
cd ~/Desktop/iPDC-v1.3.1/DBServer-1.1
mysql -uroot -proot <"Db.sql"
I ended up with the following error message.
ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'root'#'localhost' (using password: YES)
How may I fix it and continue?
Note: For MySQL 5.7+, please see the answer from Lahiru to this question. That contains more current information.
For MySQL < 5.7:
The default root password is blank (i.e., an empty string), not root. So you can just log in as:
mysql -u root
You should obviously change your root password after installation:
mysqladmin -u root password [newpassword]
In most cases you should also set up individual user accounts before working extensively with the database as well.
I was recently faced with the same problem, but in my case, I remember my password quite alright, but it kept on giving me the same error. I tried so many solutions, but still none helped. Then I tried this:
mysql -u root -p
After which it asks you for a password like this
Enter password:
And then I typed in the password I used. That's all.
I was able to solve this problem by executing this statement
sudo dpkg-reconfigure mysql-server-5.5
Which will change the root password.
You have to reset the password! Steps for Mac OS X (tested and working) and Ubuntu:
Stop MySQL using
sudo service mysql stop
or
sudo /usr/local/mysql/support-files/mysql.server stop
Start it in safe mode:
sudo mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables --skip-networking
(the above line is the whole command)
This will be an ongoing command until the process is finished, so open another shell/terminal window, log in without a password:
mysql -u root
mysql> UPDATE mysql.user SET Password=PASSWORD('password') WHERE User='root';
As per #IberoMedia's comment, for newer versions of MySQL, the field is called authentication_string:
mysql> UPDATE mysql.user SET authentication_string =PASSWORD('password') WHERE User='root';
Start MySQL using:
sudo service mysql start
or
sudo /usr/local/mysql/support-files/mysql.server start
Your new password is 'password'.
Note: for version of MySQL > 5.7 try this:
update mysql.user set authentication_string='password' where user='root';
It happens when your password is missing.
Steps to change the password when you have forgotten it:
Stop MySQL Server (on Linux):
sudo systemctl stop mysql
Start the database without loading the grant tables or enabling networking:
sudo mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables --skip-networking &
The ampersand at the end of this command will make this process run in the background, so you can continue to use your terminal and run mysql -u root (as root). It will not ask for a password.
If you get error like as below:
2018-02-12T08:57:39.826071Z mysqld_safe Directory '/var/run/mysqld' for UNIX
socket file don't exists.
mysql -u root
ERROR 2002 (HY000): Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket
'/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' (2)
[1]+ Exit 1
Make MySQL service directory.
sudo mkdir /var/run/mysqld
Give MySQL user permission to write to the service directory.
sudo chown mysql: /var/run/mysqld
Run the same command in step 2 to run MySQL in background.
Run mysql -u root. You will get the MySQL console without entering a password.
Run these commands
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
For MySQL 5.7.6 and newer
ALTER USER 'root'#'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password';
For MySQL 5.7.5 and older
SET PASSWORD FOR 'root'#'localhost' = PASSWORD('new_password');
If the ALTER USER command doesn't work use:
UPDATE mysql.user SET authentication_string = PASSWORD('new_password') WHERE User = 'root' AND Host = 'localhost';
Now exit
To stop the instance started manually:
sudo kill `cat /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.pid`
Restart MySQL
sudo systemctl start mysql
At the initial start up of the server the following happens, given that the data directory of the server is empty:
The server is initialized.
SSL certificate and key files are generated in the data directory.
The validate_password plugin is installed and enabled.
The superuser account 'root'#'localhost' is created. The password for the superuser is set and stored in the error log file.
To reveal it, use the following command:
shell> sudo grep 'temporary password' /var/log/mysqld.log
Change the root password as soon as possible by logging in with the generated temporary password and set a custom password for the superuser account:
shell> mysql -u root -p
mysql> ALTER USER 'root'#'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'MyNewPass5!';
If the problem still exists, try to force changing the password:
/etc/init.d/mysql stop
mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables &
mysql -u root
Set up a new MySQL root user password:
use mysql;
update user set password=PASSWORD("NEW-ROOT-PASSWORD") where User='root';
flush privileges;
quit;
Stop the MySQL server:
/etc/init.d/mysql stop
Start the MySQL server and test it:
mysql -u root -p
If none of the other answers work for you, and you received this error:
mysqld_safe Logging to '/var/log/mysql/error.log'.
mysqld_safe Directory '/var/run/mysqld' for UNIX socket file don't exists.
[1]+ Exit 1 sudo mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables
Follow the below commands step by step until you reset your password:
# Stop your server first
sudo service mysql stop
# Make the MySQL service directory.
sudo mkdir /var/run/mysqld
# Give MySQL permission to work with the created directory
sudo chown mysql: /var/run/mysqld
# Start MySQL, without permission and network checking
sudo mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables --skip-networking &
# Log in to your server without any password.
mysql -u root mysql
# Update the password for the root user:
UPDATE mysql.user SET authentication_string=PASSWORD('YourNewPasswordBuddy'), plugin='mysql_native_password' WHERE User='root' AND Host='localhost';
# If you omit (AND Host='localhost') section, it updates
# the root password regardless of its host
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;
# Kill the mysqld_safe process
sudo service mysql restart
# Now you can use your new password to log in to your server
mysql -u root -p
# Take note for remote access. You should create a remote
# user and then grant all privileges to that remote user
I came across this very annoying problem and found many answers that did not work. The best solution I came across was to completely uninstall MySQL and reinstall it. On reinstall you set a root password and this fixed the problem.
sudo apt-get purge mysql-server mysql-client mysql-common mysql-server-core-5.5 mysql-client-core-5.5
sudo rm -rf /etc/mysql /var/lib/mysql
sudo apt-get autoremove
sudo apt-get autoclean
I found this code elsewhere, so I don't take any credit for it. But it works. To install MySQL after uninstalling it, I think DigitalOcean has a good tutorial on it. Checkout my gist for this.
How to install MySQL on Ubuntu (which works)
I am using Ubuntu 16.04 (Xenial Xerus) and installed MySQL 5.7.
I had the same issue
Login denied for root user.
I tried the below steps:
dpkg --get-selections | grep mysql (to get the version of MySQL).
dpkg-reconfigure mysql-server-5.7
mysql -u root -p
Without -p that doesn't prompt you to ask password. Once you are in, you can create a user with a password by following steps:
CREATE USER 'your_new_username'#'your-hostname' IDENTIFIED BY 'your-password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* to 'your_new_username'#'your-hostname' WITH GRANT OPTION;
Exit from the root and log in from the <name> you gave above.
mysql -u <your_new_username> -p
For some reason still just typing MySQL does not work. At all. I suggest to make it a habit to use mysql -u <name> -p.
In the terminal, just enter:
mysql -u root -p
Then it will ask the password from you.
I installed MySQL as root user ($SUDO) and got this same issue
Here is how I fixed it:
sudo cat /etc/mysql/debian.cnf
This will show details as:
# Automatically generated for Debian scripts. DO NOT TOUCH! [client] host = localhost user = debian-sys-maint password = GUx0RblkD3sPhHL5 socket = /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock [mysql_upgrade] host = localhost user = debian-sys-maint password = GUx0RblkD3sPhHL5 socket = /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock
Above we can see the password. But we are just going to use(GUx0RblkD3sPhHL5) that in the prompt.
`mysql -u debian-sys-maint -p
Enter password: `
Now provide the password (GUx0RblkD3sPhHL5).
Now exit from MySQL and log in again as:
`mysql -u root -p
Enter password: `
Now provide the new password. That's all. We have a new password for further uses.
It worked for me.
For those for whom the current answers didn't work can try this (tested on macOS):
mysql -h localhost -u root -p --protocol=TCP
After this, a password will be asked from you and you should use your OS user password. Then when you get into MySQL you can run:
select Host, User from mysql.user;
And you should see:
MySQL [(none)]> select Host, User from mysql.user;
+-----------+------------------+
| Host | User |
+-----------+------------------+
| localhost | mysql.infoschema |
| localhost | mysql.session |
| localhost | mysql.sys |
| localhost | root |
+-----------+------------------+
And from here you can change the configurations and edit the password or modify the grants.
Please read the official documentation: MySQL: How to Reset the Root Password
If you have access to a terminal:
MySQL 5.7.6 and later:
mysql
mysql> ALTER USER 'root'#'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'MyNewPass';
MySQL 5.7.5 and earlier:
mysql
mysql> SET PASSWORD FOR 'root'#'localhost' = PASSWORD('MyNewPass');
I am using mysql-5.7.12-osx10.11-x86_64.dmg on MacĀ OSĀ X.
The installation process automatically sets up a temporary password for the root user. You should save the password. The password can not be recovered.
Follow the instructions:
Go to cd /usr/local/mysql/bin/
Enter the temporary password (which would look something like, "tsO07JF1=>3")
You should get the mysql> prompt.
Run, SET PASSWORD FOR 'root'#'localhost' = PASSWORD('{YOUR_PASSWORD}'); If you wish to set your password: "root" then the command would be, SET PASSWORD FOR 'root'#'localhost' = PASSWORD('root');
Run ALTER USER 'root'#'localhost' PASSWORD EXPIRE NEVER;
Run exit
Run ./mysql -u root -p
Type your password. In my case I would type, "root" (without quote)
That's all.
For convenience, you should add "/usr/local/mysql/bin" to your PATH environment variable.
Now from anywhere you can type ./mysql -u root -p and then type the password and you will get the mysql> prompt.
The answer may sound silly, but after wasting hours of time, this is how I got it to work:
mysql -u root -p
I got the error message
ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'root'#'localhost' (using password: YES)
Even though I was typing the correct password (the temporary password you get when you first install MySQL).
I got it right when I typed in the password when the password prompt was blinking.
If you have MySQL as part of a Docker image (say on port 6606) and an Ubuntu install (on port 3306) specifying the port is not enough:
mysql -u root -p -P 6606
will throw:
ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'root'#'localhost' (using password: YES)
as it's trying to connect to localhost by default, specifying your local IP address fixes the issue:
mysql -u root -p -P 6606 -h 127.0.0.1
Year 2021.
Answer for UbuntuĀ 20.04 (Focal Fossa) (maybe other distributions as well).
After days of wandering around... and having none of those answers working for me, I did this and it worked!
Always in a Bash shell:
sudo systemctl disable mysql
In order to stop the daemon from starting on boot.
sudo apt purge mysql-server
and
sudo apt purge mysql-community-server*
There, it warns you you'll erase configuration files... so it's working! Because those are the ones making trouble!
sudo autoremove
To delete all the left behind packages.
Then (maybe it's optional, but I did it) reboot.
Also, I downloaded mysql-server-8.0 from the official MySQL webpage:
sudo apt install mysql-server
A signal that it's working is that when you enter the command above, the system asks you to enter the root password.
Finally:
mysql -u root -p
And the password you entered before.
If the problem still exists, try to force changing the password.
Stop MySQL Server (on Linux):
/etc/init.d/mysql stop
Stop MySQL Server (on Mac OS X):
mysql.server stop
Start the mysqld_safe daemon with --skip-grant-tables:
mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables &
mysql -u root
Set up a new MySQL root user password:
use mysql;
update user set password=PASSWORD("NEW-ROOT-PASSWORD") where User='root';
flush privileges;
quit;
Stop MySQL Server (on Linux):
/etc/init.d/mysql stop
Stop MySQL Server (on Mac OS X):
mysql.server stop
Start the MySQL server service and test to log in by root:
mysql -u root -p
I also came across the same problem. I did:
Open your cmd
Navigate to C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.0\bin>
(where MySQL Server 8.0 may be different depending on the server you installed)
Then put the following command mysql -u root -p
It will prompt for the password... simply hit Enter, as sometimes the password you entered while installing is changed by to blank.
Now you can simply access the database.
This solution worked for me on the Windows platform.
By default, the password will be null, so you have to change the password by doing the below steps.
Connect to MySQL
root# mysql
Use mysql
mysql> update user set password=PASSWORD('root') where User='root';
Finally, reload the privileges:
mysql> flush privileges;
mysql> quit
Just one line and it solved my issue.
sudo dpkg-reconfigure mysql-server-5.5
In Ubuntu 16.04 (Xenial Xerus) and MySQL version 5.7.13, I was able to resolve the problem with the steps below:
Follow the instructions from section B.5.3.2.2 Resetting the Root Password: Unix and Unix-Like Systems
MySQL 5.7 reference manual
When I tried #sudo mysqld_safe --init-file=/home/me/mysql-init & it failed. The error was in /var/log/mysql/error.log:
2016-08-10T11:41:20.421946Z 0 [Note] Execution of init_file '/home/me/mysql/mysql-init' started.
2016-08-10T11:41:20.422070Z 0 [ERROR] /usr/sbin/mysqld: File '/home/me/mysql/mysql-init' not found (Errcode: 13 - Permission denied)
2016-08-10T11:41:20.422096Z 0 [ERROR] Aborting
The file permission of mysql-init was not the problem. We need to edit AppArmor permissions.
Edit by sudo vi /etc/apparmor.d/usr.sbin.mysqld
....
/var/log/mysql/ r,
/var/log/mysql/** rw,
# Allow user init file
/home/pranab/mysql/* r,
# Site-specific additions and overrides. See local/README for details.
#include <local/usr.sbin.mysqld>
}
Do sudo /etc/init.d/apparmor reload
Start mysqld_safe again. Try step 2 above. Check file /var/log/mysql/error.log. Make sure there is no error and the mysqld is successfully started.
Run mysql -u root -p
Enter password:
Enter the password that you specified in mysql-init. You should be able to log in as root now.
Shutdown mysqld_safe by sudo mysqladmin -u root -p shutdown
Start mysqld the normal way by sudo systemctl start mysql
While the top answer (with mysqladmin) worked on macOS v10.15 (Catalina), it did not work on Ubuntu. Then I tried many of the other options, including a safe start for MySQL, but none worked.
Here is one that does:
At least for the version I got 5.7.28-0ubuntu0.18.04.4 answers were lacking IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password. 5.7.28 is the default on the current LTS and thus should be the default for most new new systems (till UbuntuĀ 20.04 (Focal Fossa) LTS comes out).
I found Can't set root password MySQL Server and now applied
ALTER USER 'root'#'localhost' IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY 'your_pass_here';
which does work.
The error that I faced was:
ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'root'#'localhost' (using password: NO)
It was a problem with the port running on.
By default, MySQL is running on port 3306.
You can check that on by running
in a 32-bit system:
sudo /opt/lampp/manager-linux.run
in a 64-bit system:
sudo /opt/lampp/manager-linux-x64.run
and click on the Configure button.
In my case the port was running on 3307, and I used the command
mysql -u root -p -P 3307 -h 127.0.0.1
Copied from this link, I had the same problem and this solved the problem. After we add a password for the database, we need to add -p (password-based login), and then enter the password. Otherwise, it will return this error:
mysql -u root -p
Because your error message says "PASSWORD: YES" this means you are are using the wrong password. This happened to me also. Luckily I remembered my correct password, and was able to make the DB connection work.
In recent MySQL versions there isn't any password in the mysql.user table.
So you need to execute ALTER USER. Put this one line command into the file.
ALTER USER 'root'#'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'MyNewPass';
And execute it as an init file (as the root or mysql user):
mysqld_safe --init-file=/home/me/mysql-init &
MySQL server need to be stopped to start mysqld_safe.
Also, there may be a problem with AppArmor permissions to load this init file. Read more in AppArmor and MySQL.
If you haven't set password yet, then run mysql -uroot. It works for me.
On Mac, if you have a problem in logging in with the first password you were given in installation, maybe you can just simply kill the MySQL process and then try.
So:
run the following command to find the PID of MySQL:
ps -aef | grep mysql | grep -v grep
kill the process:
kill -15 [process id]
Then you can log in with the initial password using this command:
mysql -uroot -p
Which asks you to enter your password. Just enter the initial password.