Question

Here is the code:

require 'active_record'

ActiveRecord::Base.establish_connection(
  adapter: 'mysql',
  user: 'dev',
  database: 'dev_db'
)

class PageModel < ActiveRecord::Base
end

p PageModel.first

and here is the error:

mysql_adapter.rb:411:in `real_connect': Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost' (using password: NO) (Mysql::Error)

Why is it trying to connect as root?

MySQL dev user exists, has no password and has full access to dev_db database.

Tried to connect through both TCP and unix socket, same error.

DataMapper connections works just well.

$ gem list |grep mysql
mysql (2.8.1)
$ gem list |grep activere
activerecord (3.2.9)

Answer 1

The correct key is :username, not :user.