MODX Cannot Connect to MySQL Using VPS Managers (Ploi, Server Avatar, Cleavr)

I’m posting here just in case anybody else has seen something like this: I am trying to launch MODX using Ploi and/or Cleavr which are interfaces that connect to and deploy VPS servers to multiple modern providers like Linode, Digital Ocean, Vultr, etc.

The problem I’m running into is that MODX cannot connect to the MySQL database on any of these setups. They’re running NGINX on Ubuntu 20.04 with MySQL 8 and PHP 7.4.

I can connect using PHP myadmin, and Wordpress works without a problem. But during installation, MODX can never ever connect to the db. Is there something that I need to change in an LEMP setup to allow MODx to connect to MySQL?

Hi, there’s nothing particular on MODX installation that would case connection issues beyond config params, are you sure the DB server is visible on the PHP side using the exact same data you are using on the installer? try a simple connect/query script and see what errors are you getting, and you can go from there