Access Denied for MySQL User 'root' in Laravel

I am encountering an error when trying to connect to my MySQL database in a Laravel application. The error message is:

Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost' (using password: YES)

My .env Configuration:

Here are the relevant parts of my .env file:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=multivendor_ecommerce
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=0000

Context:

• I did not set a password for my MySQL user, but I am trying to use 0000 as the password.
• I have checked the MySQL user privileges and am unsure if they are set correctly.

Questions:

1. How can I resolve the access denied error?
2. Should I set a password for the root user, and if so, how do I do that?
3. Are there any best practices for managing database users in Laravel?

Additional Information:

• My MySQL server is running locally.
• I have tried connecting to MySQL using the command line with the same credentials.

Make the password the string: "" and see