MySQL root password in Hestia CP

Hestia CP is one of the most popular and user-friendly server control panels available. It covers everything from managing websites, email, and databases to SSL certificates, cron jobs, and file management.

Where to find the MySQL root password

Hestia stores the MySQL root credentials in its own config file:

/usr/local/hestia/conf/mysql.conf

Connect to your server via SSH and open the file in a text editor — Nano works fine:

nano /usr/local/hestia/conf/mysql.conf

Opening mysql.conf

The file contents will look something like this:

Contents of mysql.conf

Changing the MySQL root password

To set a new root password, run the following command with your current and new passwords substituted in:

mysqladmin -u root -pOLDPASSWORD password 'NEWPASSWORD'

• OLDPASSWORD — the current password from mysql.conf
• NEWPASSWORD — the new password you want to set

Changing the password with mysqladmin

Verify the new password works by logging into MySQL as root:

mysql -u root -pNEWPASSWORD

Testing the new MySQL login

Successful MySQL login

Now update the password in mysql.conf to keep Hestia in sync:

nano /usr/local/hestia/conf/mysql.conf

Updating the password in mysql.conf

Save and close: Ctrl + O → Enter → Ctrl + X.

Then do the same for my.cnf:

nano /root/.my.cnf

Updating the password in my.cnf

Save and close: Ctrl + O → Enter → Ctrl + X.

You can now log into phpMyAdmin using the new password.