php mysqli_connect: authentication method unknown to the client [caching_sha2_password]

Question

I am using php mysqli_connect for login to a MySQL database (all on localhost)

Answer 1

If you're on a Mac, here's how to fix it. This is after tons of trial and error. Hope this helps others..

Debugging:

$mysql --verbose --help | grep my.cnf

$ which mysql
/usr/local/bin/mysql

Resolution: nano /usr/local/etc/my.cnf

Add: default-authentication-plugin=mysql_native_password

-------
# Default Homebrew MySQL server config
[mysqld]
# Only allow connections from localhost
bind-address = 127.0.0.1
default-authentication-plugin=mysql_native_password
------

Finally Run: brew services restart mysql