MySQL my.cnf file - Found option without preceding group

Question

I'm trying to connect to my DB in Ubuntu remotely but I receive error message when trying to mysql -u root -p:

Found option without preceding group in config file: /etc/mysql/my.cnf at line: 1

my.cnf looks like:

[mysqld]
user        = mysql
socket      = /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock
port        = 3306
basedir     = /usr
datadir     = /var/lib/mysql
tmpdir      = /tmp
bind-address        =  0.0.0.0
key_buffer      = 16M
max_allowed_packet  = 16M
thread_stack        = 192K
thread_cache_size       = 8
myisam-recover         = BACKUP
query_cache_limit   = 1M
query_cache_size        = 16M
log_error                = /var/log/mysql/error.log
expire_logs_days    = 10
max_binlog_size         = 100M

[client]
port        = 3306
socket      = /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock

[mysqld_safe]
socket      = /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock
nice        = 0

[mysqldump]
quick
quote-names
max_allowed_packet  = 16M

[mysql]

[isamchk]
key_buffer      = 16M

This looks pretty different from the default my.cnf which is installed with mysql on Ubuntu. Have you tried starting from the default file and gradually adding in your customizations? — Noah Goodrich, Nov 05 '11 at 13:00
Is this kind of setup version specific? I'm running into the same problem on Ubuntu 16 and mysql 5.7 or something like that... fresh install from apt. — Rick Henderson, Jan 30 '18 at 18:44

score 132 · Answer 1 · edited Feb 05 '19 at 15:53

132

Missing config header

Just add [mysqld] as first line in the /etc/mysql/my.cnf file.

Example

[mysqld]
default-time-zone = "+08:00"

Afterwards, remember to restart your MySQL Service.

sudo mysqld stop
sudo mysqld start

edited Feb 05 '19 at 15:53

dsapalo

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answered Apr 17 '17 at 12:02

vmishra

1,682
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4

His my.cnf already has [mysqld]... your answer is useful for those who don't have that line. – Reagan Ochora May 09 '17 at 01:53

score 65 · Accepted Answer · edited Feb 05 '19 at 15:51

65

Charset encoding

Check the charset encoding of the file. Make sure that it is in ASCII.

Use the od command to see if there is a UTF-8 BOM at the beginning, for example.

edited Feb 05 '19 at 15:51

dsapalo

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answered Nov 05 '11 at 13:01

aleroot

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Additional note: Lack of [mysqld] causes the error too. – chanux Aug 03 '16 at 13:09
1

For some reason [mysqld] was missing from the beginning of my my.cnf. Adding it there solved the issue, mysql running as expected now. – webmaniacgr Dec 17 '16 at 17:59
This was my issue after editing the file with MySQL workbench on Windows. I solved it by opening it in WordPad and saving it as a "Plain Text Document" – JVE999 May 09 '20 at 17:50

score 15 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 13 '20 at 18:32

15

What worked for me:

Open my.ini with Notepad++
Encoding --> convert to ANSI
save

answered Jan 13 '20 at 18:32

MJL

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score 13 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 21 '12 at 14:25

13

it is because of letters or digit infront of [mysqld] just check the leeters or digit anything is not required before [mysqld]

it may be something like

0[mysqld] then this error will occur

answered Oct 21 '12 at 14:25

payal

411
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yes there was a random + character in the configuration file. Thanks! – Sid Kshatriya Nov 26 '13 at 12:58
For me it ended up being a comment at the beginning of the file that didn't have a # before it to start the commenting procedure! – Kzqai Jan 19 '16 at 16:22

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Apr 12 '19 at 21:08

I had this problem when I installed MySQL 8.0.15 with the community installer. The my.ini file that came with the installer did not work correctly after it had been edited. I did a full manual install by downloading that zip folder. I was able to create my own my.ini file containing only the parameters that I was concerned about and it worked.

download zip file from MySQL website
unpack the folder into C:\program files\MySQL\MySQL8.0
within the MySQL8.0 folder that you unpacked the zip folder into, create a text file and save it as my.ini
include the parameters in that my.ini file that you are concerned about. so something like this(just ensure that there is already a folder created for the datadir or else initialization won't work):
```
[mysqld]
basedire=C:\program files\MySQL\MySQL8.0
datadir=D:\MySQL\Data
....continue with whatever parameters you want to include
```

initialize the data directory by running these two commands in the command prompt:

cd C:\program files\MySQL\MySQL8.0\bin
mysqld --default-file=C:\program files\MySQL\MySQL8.0\my.ini --initialize

install the MySQL server as a service by running these two commands:

cd C:\program files\MySQL\MySQL8.0\bin
mysqld --install --default-file=C:\program files\MySQL\MySQL8.0\my.ini

finally, start the server for the first time by running these two commands:
```
cd C:\program files\MySQL\MySQL8.0\bin
mysqld --console
```

MySQL my.cnf file - Found option without preceding group

5 Answers5

Missing config header

Example

Charset encoding

Linked