How to Reset Your MySQL Root Password on Ubuntu (When Nothing Works)

I was working on a Laravel task and got this error in my logs: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1045] Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost' (using password: YES) My .env file had DB_PASSWORD=password , but MySQL was rejecting it. I tried the usual tricks and ran into a wall. Here is what was happening, what fixed it, and a few small things that confused me along the way. If you are a junior dev and any of this sounds familiar, this post is for you. Step 1: Check if your Laravel .env is the problem first Bef