MySQL ERROR 1698: Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost' - Rocketeers

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MySQL ERROR 1698: Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost'
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### [\#Databases](http://rocketee.rs/index.php/databases)

On a fresh Ubuntu install, logging into MySQL as root fails even with the right password. The cause is the auth\_socket plugin, not a wrong password.

 Published by Mark van Eijk on June 23, 2026 · 1 minute read

1. [About the error](#content-about-the-error)
2. [Why do I see this error](#content-why-do-i-see-this-error)
3. [Solution](#content-solution)
4. [Log in the way the plugin expects](#content-log-in-the-way-the-plugin-expects)
5. [Switch root to password authentication](#content-switch-root-to-password-authentication)
6. [Better: create a dedicated app user](#content-better-create-a-dedicated-app-user)

[\#](#content-about-the-error "Permalink")About the error
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 ```
ERROR 1698 (28000): Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost'

```

You're certain the password is correct, yet `mysql -u root -p` is rejected. This is the signature of the **`auth_socket`** authentication plugin, and it's specifically a 1698, not the [1045 access denied](/sqlstate-hy000-1045-access-denied-for-user) you'd get from genuinely wrong credentials.

[\#](#content-why-do-i-see-this-error "Permalink")Why do I see this error
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On modern Ubuntu/Debian, the MySQL `root` account is created to authenticate with the `auth_socket` (or `unix_socket`) plugin instead of a password. That plugin checks the **operating system user** running the client: if the OS user is `root`, it lets you in; otherwise it refuses, regardless of any password.

So `mysql -u root -p` as a normal user fails, while `sudo mysql` (running as the OS root) succeeds.

[\#](#content-solution "Permalink")Solution
-------------------------------------------

### [\#](#content-log-in-the-way-the-plugin-expects "Permalink")Log in the way the plugin expects

The quickest path in is simply:

 ```
sudo mysql

```

No password, because `auth_socket` trusts the OS root user.

### [\#](#content-switch-root-to-password-authentication "Permalink")Switch root to password authentication

If you want classic password login (for a GUI client or a remote tool), change the plugin for the root account. Log in with `sudo mysql`, then:

 ```
ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED WITH caching_sha2_password BY 'your-strong-password';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

```

On older MySQL/MariaDB use `mysql_native_password` instead of `caching_sha2_password`.

### [\#](#content-better-create-a-dedicated-app-user "Permalink")Better: create a dedicated app user

Rather than handing your application the root account, create a least-privilege user scoped to one database:

 ```
CREATE USER 'app'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your-strong-password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON my_app.* TO 'app'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

```

Then point your app at `app` rather than `root`. See [environment variables in Laravel](/environment-variables-laravel) for wiring the credentials in.

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