How to Reset a WordPress Password with MySQL CLI

See the name of the database used by WP. You can find the database name in the wp-config.php file or you can use the command

grep DB_NAME wp-config.php

We are interested in this line

define( 'DB_NAME', 'wpdatabase' );

Once we find out the name of the database we need to connect to it using the command

mysql -u root -p wpdatabase

Now we need to find the user using a command similar to this, customize as needed

SELECT ID, user_login, user_pass, user_email FROM wp_users;

when we find the user it is easiest to select it using the ID, most often the administrator ID is 1 because it is the first user-created, and the command to enter a new password is as follows

UPDATE wp_users SET user_pass = MD5('my-new-password-here') WHERE ID = 1;
quit;

Note: Modern WordPress uses PHP password hashing (phpass) — not plain MD5. The MD5 hash set above gets automatically upgraded to the stronger hash on first successful login, so the password works immediately. For a cleaner approach on servers with WP-CLI installed, use:

wp user update 1 --user_pass="my-new-password-here" --path=/var/www/html

WP-CLI handles hashing automatically and is less error-prone than manual SQL edits.

That’s it, try logging in to WP administration.

Alternative: WP-CLI

If WP-CLI is installed, resetting a password is a single command:

wp user update 1 --user_pass=newpassword --path=/var/www/html

This uses WordPress’s native password hashing and avoids direct database access. Install WP-CLI from wp-cli.org if not already available. Use a strong, unique password for each admin account — it prevents unauthorized access even if other credentials are compromised.