If you getting the 2002 error trying to connect to MySQL:
ERROR 2002 (HY000): Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock'
It simply means that the MySQL server is not installed or running, or mysql.sock file does not exist in /var/lib/mysql/ folder.
How to solve Can’t connect to local MySQL server through socket error
- Check whether MySQL server is running or not
Run the following command in terminal to do this:
service mysqld startThen try to connect to MySQL server again.
- Ensure that
my.cnffile is configured correctly
Open my.cnf file (usually located in /etc/) and add the lines:
[mysqld]
socket=/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock
[client]
socket=/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sockRestart the server
service mysql restartand try to connect to MySQL again
- Try to use
TCP/IPconnection instead of UNIX socket connection
Connect to 127.0.0.1 instead of localhost. Doing this you will connect to MySQL server using TCP/IP connection. So when socket connection is not working, try to use 127.0.0.1 instead.
- Try to change permissions to MySQL folder if you are working locally:
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/lib/mysql/Restart the server and try to connect to MySQL again.
- Create symlink to
mysql.sock
Sometimes mysql.sock might be located in another folder. You should find it and symlink it. If your mysql.sock file is located at /tmp/mysql.sock, you can symlink it using following command:
ln -s /var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock /tmp/mysql.sockRestart the server and try to connect to MySQL again.
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