Cygwin connecting to MySQL: Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/run/mysql.sock'

I just installed MySQL 5.5.27 on WinXP. When I open a command prompt (Start -> Run, and type "cmd"), I can access MySQL by running "mysql -u root -p". However, when I open a Cygwin terminal and try the same thing, I get this error

$ mysql -u root -p
Enter password:
ERROR 2002 (HY000): Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/run/mysql.sock' (2)

Indeed, there is no "/var/run/mysql.sock" file.

Solution

If you specify the host on the command line, this issue should go away:

mysql -u root -p -h 127.0.0.1

You can also create a my.ini that mysql will use:

echo [client] >c:\my.ini
echo user=root >>c:\my.ini
echo host=127.0.0.1 >>c:\my.ini

Then you can just type:

mysql -p

You can even add the password:

echo password="abracadabra" >>c:\my.ini

Then, just type:

mysql

and you're in!