(MySQL 8, WSL 2) su: warning: cannot change directory to /nonexistent: No such file or directory

Hi Miguel, I just recently switched and moved my project files from WSL 1 to the WSL 2 environment.

Specs:

• Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

• Python 3.8.2

.

But I’m having problems starting MySQL in (venv) environment please see the below warning message. Is this an issue that you have seen in the past? When starting MySQL outside of (venv) it runs ok.

When I check if MySQL is installed in both inside and outside of (venv) environment the terminal says that they are installed in both.

(venv)$ sudo service mysql start
  * Starting MySQL database server mysqld
    su: warning: cannot change directory to /nonexistent: No such file or directory
    sleep: cannot read realtime clock: Invalid argument

$ sudo service mysql start
  * Starting MySQL database server mysqld

$ mysql --version
  mysql  Ver 8.0.21-0ubuntu0.20.04.4 for Linux on x86_64 ((Ubuntu))

(venv)$ mysql --version
  mysql  Ver 8.0.21-0ubuntu0.20.04.4 for Linux on x86_64 ((Ubuntu))

[krowe]

I’ve just confirmed that this is still an issue on a fresh install. Someone has found a workaround for this issue:

sudo service mysql stop
sudo usermod -d /var/lib/mysql/ mysql
sudo service mysql start

This creates a home directory for the mysql user. The mysql user typically doesn’t have a home directory on purpose (I presume that this is because this prevents someone from logging in as that user). This shouldn’t be much of an issue for WSL installations unless you’re crazy enough to use WSL for a public facing server. In that case, your best bet is just starting the service twice.

Source: https://serverfault.com/questions/755763/mysql-nonexistent-home-vs-no-directory-logging-in-with-home/942422

[miguelgrinberg]

I have not seen this error myself, but Google is your friend: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/62987154/mysql-wont-start-error-su-warning-cannot-change-directory-to-nonexistent.