Where does MySQL workbench store connections password?

Question

My windows 7 isn't booting up, but I was able to access the drive from another system. I am trying to restore MySQL workbench connections. I could restore the XML file which include all the connection (%appdata%/roaming/MySql/Connections.XML) but apparently, it doesn't store the connection password.

Answer 1

On Windows the password is stored in a private encrypted file user_data.dat (called the "password vault"). This vault can only be decrypted by the user who encrypted it. That means, even if you create a new user with the same username on a different machine, you will not be able to decrypt that file. I'm afraid you will have to enter your passwords again on the new machine/setup.

Answer 2

In later versions of MySQL Workbench (in Windows 10), the password vault file is located here:

%appdata%\roaming\MySql\Workbench\workbench_user_data.dat