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.