Connecting to a MySQL Database with PHP Code in cPanel and DirectAdmin

To connect PHP to a MySQL database on cPanel or DirectAdmin hosting, you need four details: the host, the database name, the database user and its password. For a website on the same hosting account, the host is localhost, and the names include your account username as a prefix. Below is working PHP code for both PDO and mysqli.

1. Collect the four details

In cPanel, the Database Wizard under Databases creates all three in one flow. In DirectAdmin, use Account Manager › Databases. Both panels put your account username and an underscore in front of the names you type, and your code must use the full name. Forgetting the prefix is the most common cause of "Access denied" and "Unknown database".

2. Keep the settings in a separate file

Put the connection details in their own file, ideally one level above public_html, and include it from your code. For example, /home/cpaneluser/db-config.php:

<?php
return [
    'host' => 'localhost',
    'name' => 'cpaneluser_shop',
    'user' => 'cpaneluser_shopuser',
    'pass' => 'your-database-password',
];

Never commit this file to a public Git repository.

3. Connect with PDO (recommended)

<?php
$cfg = require __DIR__ . '/../db-config.php';

$dsn = "mysql:host={$cfg['host']};dbname={$cfg['name']};charset=utf8mb4";
$options = [
    PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE            => PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION,
    PDO::ATTR_DEFAULT_FETCH_MODE => PDO::FETCH_ASSOC,
    PDO::ATTR_EMULATE_PREPARES   => false,
];

try {
    $pdo = new PDO($dsn, $cfg['user'], $cfg['pass'], $options);
} catch (PDOException $e) {
    error_log('Database connection failed: ' . $e->getMessage());
    http_response_code(500);
    exit('Sorry, the site is having a problem. Please try again later.');
}

$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT id, name FROM products WHERE category = ?');
$stmt->execute([$_GET['category'] ?? '']);
$products = $stmt->fetchAll();

4. Connect with mysqli

If your code already uses mysqli, switch on exceptions so a failed connection is never ignored:

<?php
$cfg = require __DIR__ . '/../db-config.php';
mysqli_report(MYSQLI_REPORT_ERROR | MYSQLI_REPORT_STRICT);

try {
    $mysqli = new mysqli($cfg['host'], $cfg['user'], $cfg['pass'], $cfg['name']);
    $mysqli->set_charset('utf8mb4');
} catch (mysqli_sql_exception $e) {
    error_log('Database connection failed: ' . $e->getMessage());
    http_response_code(500);
    exit('Sorry, the site is having a problem. Please try again later.');
}

The old mysql_connect() functions no longer exist in modern PHP; code that uses them must be updated to PDO or mysqli.

5. Test it, then remove the test

Upload a test script with the File Manager or FTP, open it in your browser, and delete it once it works. If it fails, the real message is in the error_log file in the script's folder, or on cPanel in logs/yourdomain_com.php.error.log in your home folder. Printing the error on the page, as older guides do with die($conn->connect_error), shows your database user name to every visitor.

A quick check: if you can log in to phpMyAdmin with the same database user and password, the details are right and the problem is in your code.

6. Connecting from your own computer

Port 3306 is closed to outside connections on our shared servers, and adding your IP under Remote Database Access does not open it. Use phpMyAdmin, or an SSH tunnel. Jailed SSH access is available on every shared hosting plan (cPanel, DirectAdmin, Webuzo). It is off by default; ask support to enable it for your account. See securing MySQL access with SSH tunnels.

Ready to build? Compare cPanel hosting and DirectAdmin hosting, or open a support ticket if your database still won't connect.