Connection error for TiDB MySQL-compatible cloud - Need to pass in CA certificate for secure connection?

[tan-yong-sheng]

As title mentioned, I suspect we need to pass in CA certificate to connect with MySQL-compatible TiDB cloud...

The error message as follows:

This either means that the username and password information in your wp-config.php file is incorrect or that contact with the database server at `**.ap-southeast-1.prod.aws.tidbcloud.com` could not be established. This could mean your host’s database server is down.

Are you sure you have the correct username and password?
Are you sure you have typed the correct hostname?
Are you sure the database server is running?
If you are unsure what these terms mean you should probably contact your host. If you still need help you can always visit the [WordPress support forums](https://wordpress.org/support/forums/).

Btw, I am deploying at netlify...

[mitchmac]

I think this should be handled already with the provided wp-config.php. I've been able to use TiDB with that setting. Can you let me know if there's a more specific error you're seeing?

[tan-yong-sheng]

Hi @mitchmac , this is the error message i get:

Wait me few minutes, I will come back to write a few env var i have defined later...

[mitchmac]

@tan-yong-sheng there might be more information in the function logs (Vercel, Netlify, etc) if you check there.

[tan-yong-sheng]

The function logs from Netlify free plan

Mar 30, 02:10:52 AM: 64785f10 INFO   [Sun Mar 29 18:10:55 2026] 127.0.0.1:33804 Closed without sending a request; it was probably just an unused speculative preconnectionMar 30, 02:10:52 AM: 64785f10 INFO   [Sun Mar 29 18:10:55 2026] 127.0.0.1:33804 ClosingMar 30, 02:10:52 AM: 64785f10 INFO   [Sun Mar 29 18:10:56 2026] 127.0.0.1:33806 [500]: GET /Mar 30, 02:10:52 AM: 64785f10 INFO   [Sun Mar 29 18:10:56 2026] 127.0.0.1:33806 ClosingMar 30, 02:10:53 AM: 64785f10 Duration: 1000.19 ms	Memory Usage: 405 MB	Init Duration: 1965.32 ms	Mar 30, 02:10:56 AM: 870313ad INFO   [Sun Mar 29 18:10:56 2026] 127.0.0.1:33816 AcceptedMar 30, 02:10:56 AM: 870313ad INFO   [Sun Mar 29 18:10:56 2026] 127.0.0.1:33816 [404]: GET /favicon.ico - No such file or directoryMar 30, 02:10:56 AM: 870313ad INFO   [Sun Mar 29 18:10:56 2026] 127.0.0.1:33816 ClosingMar 30, 02:10:56 AM: 870313ad Duration: 116.32 ms	Memory Usage: 414 MB	Mar 30, 02:16:13 AM: 4f3ec3d7 INFO   [Sun Mar 29 18:16:13 2026] 127.0.0.1:56886 AcceptedMar 30, 02:16:13 AM: 4f3ec3d7 INFO   [Sun Mar 29 18:16:14 2026] 127.0.0.1:56886 [500]: GET /Mar 30, 02:16:13 AM: 4f3ec3d7 INFO   [Sun Mar 29 18:16:14 2026] 127.0.0.1:56886 ClosingMar 30, 02:16:14 AM: 4f3ec3d7 Duration: 894.42 ms	Memory Usage: 417 MB	

I tried to search other logs info, but netlify free plan seems not allowing to view logs of some services for free ...

[tan-yong-sheng]

The env var i have set where i set WP_ALLOW_REPAIR=true and SKIP_MYSQL_SSL=true

[tan-yong-sheng]

I tried to connect with that TiDB cloud with DBeaver (SQL editor), where i found i can only connect it after i supply DBeaver with CA Certificate ... and interestingly, that DB have wp_* tables already although the website i deployed has the error 'Error establishing a database connection` ...

So, i am not sure if this is because we must let serverlessWP to have CA Certificate env var to ensure that database connection can be setup successfully ...

[mitchmac]

SKIP_MYSQL_SSL probably shouldn't be set, since that skips the necessary database client flag.

[tan-yong-sheng]

I deleted that env var and re-deploy again, still same connection error

The deploy logs as below, but I don't find any obvious error about connection problem:

2:29:05 AM: build-image version: a0bc76c99cbadd99a168cf193f4d4df9fa7ee94a (noble-new-builds)
2:29:05 AM: buildbot version: 75720f3385a77ca4d1a1106b08317394d7a01821
2:29:05 AM: Building without cache
2:29:05 AM: Starting to prepare the repo for build
2:29:05 AM: No cached dependencies found. Cloning fresh repo
2:29:05 AM: git clone --filter=blob:none git@github.com:tan-yong-sheng/serverlesswp
2:29:06 AM: Preparing Git Reference refs/heads/main
2:29:11 AM: Installing dependencies
2:29:11 AM: mise ~/.config/mise/config.toml tools: python@3.14.3
2:29:11 AM: mise ~/.config/mise/config.toml tools: ruby@3.4.8
2:29:11 AM: mise ~/.config/mise/config.toml tools: go@1.26.1
2:29:12 AM: Attempting Node.js version '22' from .nvmrc
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2:29:15 AM: Installing npm packages using npm version 10.9.7
2:29:21 AM: npm warn deprecated inflight@1.0.6: This module is not supported, and leaks memory. Do not use it. Check out lru-cache if you want a good and tested way to coalesce async requests by a key value, which is much more comprehensive and powerful.
2:29:21 AM: npm warn deprecated rimraf@3.0.2: Rimraf versions prior to v4 are no longer supported
2:29:21 AM: npm warn deprecated glob@7.2.3: Old versions of glob are not supported, and contain widely publicized security vulnerabilities, which have been fixed in the current version. Please update. Support for old versions may be purchased (at exorbitant rates) by contacting i@izs.me
2:29:21 AM: npm warn deprecated prebuild-install@7.1.3: No longer maintained. Please contact the author of the relevant native addon; alternatives are available.
2:29:21 AM: npm warn deprecated @npmcli/move-file@1.1.2: This functionality has been moved to @npmcli/fs
2:29:21 AM: npm warn deprecated npmlog@6.0.2: This package is no longer supported.
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2:29:22 AM: npm warn deprecated gauge@4.0.4: This package is no longer supported.
2:29:22 AM: npm warn deprecated tar@6.2.1: Old versions of tar are not supported, and contain widely publicized security vulnerabilities, which have been fixed in the current version. Please update. Support for old versions may be purchased (at exorbitant rates) by contacting i@izs.me
2:29:23 AM: added 261 packages in 8s
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2:29:26 AM: Netlify Build                                                 
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2:29:26 AM: ❯ Version
2:29:26 AM:   @netlify/build 35.11.2
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2:29:26 AM: ❯ Flags
2:29:26 AM:   accountId: 61fde37392eba25d23b1fa62
2:29:26 AM:   baseRelDir: true
2:29:26 AM:   buildId: 69c96f70ba4976e4e1f03441
2:29:26 AM:   deployId: 69c96f70ba4976e4e1f03443
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2:29:26 AM: ❯ Current directory
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2:29:26 AM: ❯ Context
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2:29:26 AM: build.command from netlify.toml                               
2:29:26 AM: ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
2:29:26 AM: ​
2:29:26 AM: $ rm -rf .git && npm install && mkdir -p wp-public && find wp -type f \( -name '*.css' -o -name '*.js' -o -name '*.png' -o -name '*.jpg' -o -name '*.jpeg' -o -name '*.gif' -o -name '*.svg' -o -name '*.woff' -o -name '*.woff2' -o -name '*.ico' -o -name '*.otf' -o -name '*.webp' \) -exec cp --parents {} wp-public/ \;
2:29:27 AM: up to date, audited 262 packages in 1s
2:29:27 AM: 23 packages are looking for funding
2:29:27 AM:   run `npm fund` for details
2:29:27 AM: 7 vulnerabilities (2 low, 5 high)
2:29:27 AM: To address all issues (including breaking changes), run:
2:29:27 AM:   npm audit fix --force
2:29:27 AM: Run `npm audit` for details.
2:29:29 AM: ​
2:29:29 AM: (build.command completed in 3.4s)
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2:29:29 AM: Functions bundling                                            
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2:29:36 AM: Scanning for secrets in code and build output.                
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2:29:36 AM: Secrets scanning complete. 7162 file(s) scanned. No secrets detected in build output or repo code!
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2:29:36 AM: (Secrets scanning completed in 1.3s)
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2:29:36 AM: Deploy site                                                   
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2:29:36 AM: Starting to deploy site from 'wp-public/wp'
2:29:36 AM: Calculating files to upload
2:29:38 AM: 0 new file(s) to upload
2:29:38 AM: 1 new function(s) to upload
2:29:50 AM: Starting post processing
2:29:50 AM: Skipping form detection
2:29:50 AM: Post processing - header rules
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2:29:50 AM: Netlify Build Complete                                        
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2:29:50 AM: (Netlify Build completed in 23.6s)
2:29:50 AM: Caching artifacts
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2:29:50 AM: Uploading cache of size 65.8MB
2:29:51 AM: Site is live ✨
2:29:51 AM: Section completed: cleanup
2:29:51 AM: Finished processing build request in 46.578s

I think I will try to ask codex cli or claude code to debug for my own cases, and would reply if i found my mistake ... because to be honest, i am lack of detailed logs to debug this issues ... thanks for help ...