Node.js can't authenticate to MySQL 8.0

Question

I have a Node.js program that connects to a local MySQL database with the root account (this is not a production setup). This is the code that creates the connection:

const mysql = require('mysql');  const dbConn = mysql.createConnection({     host: 'localhost',     port: 3306,     user: 'root',     password: 'myRootPassword',     database: 'decldb' });  dbConn.connect(err => {     if (err) throw err;     console.log('Connected!'); }); 

It worked with MySQL 5.7, but since installing MySQL 8.0 I get this error when starting the Node.js app:

> node .\api-server\main.js [2018-05-16T13:53:53.153Z] Server launched on port 3000! C:\Users\me\project\node_server\node_modules\mysql\lib\protocol\Parser.js:80         throw err; // Rethrow non-MySQL errors         ^  Error: ER_NOT_SUPPORTED_AUTH_MODE: Client does not support authentication protocol requested by server; consider upgrading MySQL client     at Handshake.Sequence._packetToError (C:\Users\me\project\node_server\node_modules\mysql\lib\protocol\sequences\Sequence.js:52:14)     at Handshake.ErrorPacket (C:\Users\me\project\node_server\node_modules\mysql\lib\protocol\sequences\Handshake.js:130:18)     at Protocol._parsePacket (C:\Users\me\project\node_server\node_modules\mysql\lib\protocol\Protocol.js:279:23)     at Parser.write (C:\Users\me\project\node_server\node_modules\mysql\lib\protocol\Parser.js:76:12)     at Protocol.write (C:\Users\me\project\node_server\node_modules\mysql\lib\protocol\Protocol.js:39:16)     at Socket.<anonymous> (C:\Users\me\project\node_server\node_modules\mysql\lib\Connection.js:103:28)     at emitOne (events.js:116:13)     at Socket.emit (events.js:211:7)     at addChunk (_stream_readable.js:263:12)     at readableAddChunk (_stream_readable.js:250:11)     --------------------     at Protocol._enqueue (C:\Users\me\project\node_server\node_modules\mysql\lib\protocol\Protocol.js:145:48)     at Protocol.handshake (C:\Users\me\project\node_server\node_modules\mysql\lib\protocol\Protocol.js:52:23)     at Connection.connect (C:\Users\me\project\node_server\node_modules\mysql\lib\Connection.js:130:18)     at Object.<anonymous> (C:\Users\me\project\node_server\main.js:27:8)     at Module._compile (module.js:652:30)     at Object.Module._extensions..js (module.js:663:10)     at Module.load (module.js:565:32)     at tryModuleLoad (module.js:505:12)     at Function.Module._load (module.js:497:3)     at Function.Module.runMain (module.js:693:10) 

It seems that the root account uses a new password hashing method:

> select User,Host,plugin from user where User="root"; +------+-----------+-----------------------+ | User | Host      | plugin                | +------+-----------+-----------------------+ | root | localhost | caching_sha2_password | +------+-----------+-----------------------+ 

...but I don't know why Node.js is unable to connect to it. I have updated all the npm packages and it's still an issue.

I would like to keep the new password hashing method. Can I still make this connection work? Do I have to wait for an update of the MySQL Node.js package, or change a setting on my side?

Answer 1

MySQL 8.0 uses a new default authentication plugin - caching_sha2_password - whereas MySQL 5.7 used a different one - mysql_native_password. Currently, the community Node.js drivers for MySQL don't support compatible client-side authentication mechanisms for the new server plugin.

A possible workaround is to alter the type of user account to use the old authentication plugin:

ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY 'MyNewPass'; 

Or create a different one that uses that same plugin:

CREATE USER 'foo'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY 'bar'; 

There's a pull request in pipeline to properly address the issue.

Another option is to use the official MySQL Node.js connector (full disclosure: I'm the lead dev), which is based on the X Protocol and already supports the new authentication mode.