If you don't remember the password you set for root and need to reset it, follow these steps:
sudo mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables;
mysql -u root
For MySQL older than MySQL 5.7 use:
UPDATE mysql.user SET Password=PASSWORD('your-password') WHERE User='root';
For MySQL 5.7+ use:
USE mysql;
UPDATE mysql.user SET authentication_string=PASSWORD("your-password") WHERE User='root';
Refresh and quit:
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
\q