Why can't I connect to my MySQL database using MySQL Workbench?

Question

I can't connect to my MySQL database using MySQL Workbench. I'm using MySQL Community Server 8.0.11 and MySQL Workbench 6.3 CE. I'm also using Windows 10 Home.

When I click in the default MySQL connection in MySQL Workbench it says it has encountered an error. No more information is provided.

I am able to connect to my MySQL Server without any problem using the command mysql -u root -p -h 127.0.0.1 -P 3306.

Following is the status of my server.

mysql  Ver 8.0.11 for Win64 on x86_64 (MySQL Community Server - GPL)

Connection id:          12
Current database:
Current user:           root@localhost
SSL:                    Cipher in use is DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256
Using delimiter:        ;
Server version:         8.0.11 MySQL Community Server - GPL
Protocol version:       10
Connection:             127.0.0.1 via TCP/IP
Server characterset:    utf8mb4
Db     characterset:    utf8mb4
Client characterset:    cp850
Conn.  characterset:    cp850
TCP port:               3306
Uptime:                 15 min 55 sec

Threads: 2  Questions: 6  Slow queries: 0  Opens: 110  Flush tables: 2  Open tables: 86  Queries per second avg: 0.006

Answer 1

I executed MySQL Workbench using -log-level=debug3 command: MySQLWorkbench.exe -log-level=debug3.

After reading the log generated by the program I found following information:

21:10:22 [ERR][SQL Editor Form]: SqlEditorForm: exception in do_connect method: Exception: Authentication plugin 'caching_sha2_password' cannot be loaded: Não foi possível encontrar o módulo especificado.

21:10:22 [ERR][  GRTDispatcher]: exception in grt execute_task, continuing: Exception: Authentication plugin 'caching_sha2_password' cannot be loaded: Não foi possível encontrar o módulo especificado.

21:10:22 [ERR][  GRTDispatcher]: worker: task 'execute sql queries' has failed with error:.Authentication plugin 'caching_sha2_password' cannot be loaded: Não foi possível encontrar o módulo especificado.

21:10:22 [ERR][SQL Editor Form]: SQL editor could not be connected: Authentication plugin 'caching_sha2_password' cannot be loaded: Não foi possível encontrar o módulo especificado.

21:10:22 [ERR][SQL Editor Form]: Your connection attempt failed for user 'root' from your host to server at 127.0.0.1:3306:
Authentication plugin 'caching_sha2_password' cannot be loaded: Não foi possível encontrar o módulo especificado.

This question Authentication plugin 'caching_sha2_password' cannot be loaded helped me resolving the problem. Now I can connect to my MySQL Server.

Answer 2

It looks like it is MySQL Workbench that's not starting correctly on your machine. I found this from the official website try and see if it works if not try reporting the bug to the dev team and wait for a response. Alternatively you can try using a different tool to connect to your database.