Timed out error connecting backend to MySQL database | Railway | Page 1

solemn bobcat Oct 3, 2023, 8:33 AM

#

Hey guys I'm at the last hurdle for this website if anyone could help I'd really appreciate it

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/77220612/timedout-error-while-trying-connect-backend-to-railway-mysql-database

Stack Overflow

TimedOut Error while trying connect backend to railway MySQL database

Hey so basically I'm having trouble connecting my backend to a new mySQL database I created on railway. I have it as a service connected to a website I have deployed using github. I'm going to drop...

high basinBOT Oct 3, 2023, 8:33 AM

#

To help others find answers, you can mark your question as solved via Right click solution message -> Apps -> ✅ Mark Solution

tall garnetBOT Oct 3, 2023, 8:33 AM

#

Project ID: N/A

solemn bobcat Oct 3, 2023, 11:24 AM

#

tall garnet

Project ID: bd779870-1b99-4af3-b0da-20a63fb58772

dim epoch Oct 3, 2023, 2:21 PM

#

solemn bobcat Hey guys I'm at the last hurdle for this website if anyone could help I'd really...

Please send your repo/the section of your code that attempts to connect to your db

potent quartz Oct 3, 2023, 2:55 PM

#

in your mysql.createConnection just use a database url, much easier, since you left out the port variable

solemn bobcat Oct 3, 2023, 3:20 PM

#

potent quartz in your `mysql.createConnection` just use a database url, much easier, since you...

I’m not exactly sure how to do that I was looking for examples online I’m kind of a noob with back end stuff right now but I’ll check out mysqls documentation later and see if I can make that happen

solemn bobcat Oct 3, 2023, 3:21 PM

#

dim epoch Please send your repo/the section of your code that attempts to connect to your ...

I believe it’s on the post but I’ll post the specific snippet in here once I get home

potent quartz Oct 3, 2023, 3:22 PM

#

can you show us your raw service variables, and make sure to hide anything sensitive please

solemn bobcat Oct 3, 2023, 7:12 PM

#

dim epoch Please send your repo/the section of your code that attempts to connect to your ...

const connection = mysql.createConnection({
    host: process.env.HOST,
    user: process.env.USER,
    password: process.env.PASSWORD,
    database: process.env.DATABASE,
});

connection.connect((err) => {
    if (err) {
        console.error('Error connecting to mySQL:', err);
        return;
    } else {
        console.log('Connected to mySQL database');
    }
});

solemn bobcat Oct 3, 2023, 7:14 PM

#

potent quartz can you show us your raw service variables, and make sure to hide anything sensi...

HOST = containers-us-west-71.railway.app
USER = root
PASSWORD = (some SHA password)
DATABASE = railway
PORT = 5???

solemn bobcat Oct 3, 2023, 8:32 PM

#

I took a look at the mysql documentation and it left me more confused than before

potent quartz Oct 3, 2023, 9:20 PM

#

potent quartz in your `mysql.createConnection` just use a database url, much easier, since you...

this is still applicable

solemn bobcat Oct 3, 2023, 10:35 PM

#

potent quartz this is still applicable

Okay I’ll try it out

solemn bobcat Oct 3, 2023, 11:34 PM

#

potent quartz this is still applicable

I'm still very much a beginner so I can't figure out what the property name is for the createConnection function. I got this error and from guess attempting. I'm trying to figure it out right now though

Ignoring invalid configuration option passed to Connection: url. This is currently a warning, but in future versions of MySQL2, an error will be thrown if you pass an invalid configuration option to a Connection

Server is running on port 7698

Error connecting to mySQL: Error: connect ETIMEDOUT

at Connection._handleTimeoutError (/app/node_modules/mysql2/lib/connection.js:205:17)

at listOnTimeout (node:internal/timers:569:17)

at process.processTimers (node:internal/timers:512:7) {

errorno: 'ETIMEDOUT',

code: 'ETIMEDOUT',

syscall: 'connect',

fatal: true

}

const connection = mysql.createConnection({
    host: process.env.HOST,
    user: process.env.USER,
    password: process.env.PASSWORD,
    database: process.env.DATABASE,
    url: process.env.URL
});

potent quartz Oct 3, 2023, 11:38 PM

#

show me a screenshot of your railway service variables

solemn bobcat Oct 3, 2023, 11:54 PM

#

solemn bobcat Oct 3, 2023, 11:54 PM

#

potent quartz show me a screenshot of your railway service variables

^

potent quartz Oct 3, 2023, 11:57 PM

#

those are the plugin variables, please show me the service variables

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:02 AM

#

potent quartz those are the plugin variables, please show me the service variables

Sorry about that 😅

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 12:03 AM

#

can you show me those in the raw editor, also hiding anything sensitive

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:03 AM

#

by the way I used the plugin variables in my server.js file not the service variables in the env file

#

was this my mistake?

#

you got it

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 12:03 AM

#

yes, but it is not the only mistake, so let's take this one thing at a time so we can come to a total solution

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:12 AM

#

potent quartz yes, but it is not the only mistake, so let's take this one thing at a time so w...

#

This is the env file it has the plugin variables from the sql service. I'm guessing I was suppose to put in the service variables from the website service but I haven't changed anything yet

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 12:14 AM

#

no you weren't, please make sure you do not have that file in your repository

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:14 AM

#

I have gitignore setup

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 12:14 AM

#

and please show me the raw variable editor for your service, hiding anything important

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:15 AM

#

For the sql service or the website service?

#

I'm not sure what you mean by raw variable editor?

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 12:15 AM

#

for whatever service is using the database

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:15 AM

#

Oh okay

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 12:15 AM

#

solemn bobcat Sorry about that 😅

see that raw editor button?

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:15 AM

#

Ah

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 12:17 AM

#

potent quartz and please show me the raw variable editor for your service, hiding anything imp...

^

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:19 AM

#

potent quartz and please show me the raw variable editor for your service, hiding anything imp...

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 12:20 AM

#

the mysql database, it is in the same railway project?

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:20 AM

#

potent quartz the mysql database, it is in the same railway project?

Yes. Is it not suppose to be setup that way?

#

Sorry this is my first time messing with back end stuff

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 12:20 AM

#

nope that's good, that's how it should be

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:21 AM

#

Oh okay well the env file has the plugin vars from the sql service so should I be replacing them with the service vars from the website service?

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 12:21 AM

#

solemn bobcat

delete all those, and add them back as reference variables
https://docs.railway.app/develop/variables#reference-variables

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:21 AM

#

Oh okay

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:33 AM

#

potent quartz delete all those, and add them back as reference variables <https://docs.railway...

Hey I was wondering does the password matter? Because I basically lost it when I editted the image and I'm just realizing this..

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 12:43 AM

#

wdym lost it

#

you should use reference variables, please read the docs page I linked and then show me the raw variables again when done please

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:50 AM

#

potent quartz wdym lost it

Basically I started deleting to put them back in as ref vars but then I realized the photo was edited with the password omitted so I just made my own password. The rest I did turn into ref vars and I got the same error again

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 12:51 AM

#

don't worry about the error yet, I knew it still wouldn't work

#

and you can't just make up your own password, the password needs to be a reference too

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:51 AM

#

I'm fine I'm just sweating the lost SHA password 😂

#

Well it's set up like a ref var but how do i reset a password for the website service?

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 12:52 AM

#

and actually, none of those are reference variables, please read the docs I linked

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:53 AM

#

Okay I'll take a look again my bad

#

I believe I did it correctly this time. It's basically what the dropdown shows for the value in accordance to what was set as the var name right?

#

Which was also just a dropdown selection?

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 12:57 AM

#

idk let's see the raw variables

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:57 AM

#

#

Is this correct?

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 12:58 AM

#

okay I think that looks good, now you need to go and click the little eye icon on each of those variables to make sure they are displaying their proper values

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:59 AM

#

will do

#

They are

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:59 AM

#

potent quartz okay I think that looks good, now you need to go and click the little eye icon o...

atleast from what I see. My guess is to now put those values in my env file?

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 12:59 AM

#

nope

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 12:59 AM

#

Oh okay

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:00 AM

#

and actually railway makes .env files obsolete

#

but that's a bit out of the scope of this particular help thread

#

now in your mysql.createconnection thing, use all those environment variables

#

show me the code before you push it please

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:02 AM

#

potent quartz now in your mysql.createconnection thing, use all those environment variables

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:03 AM

#

I like the out of the box thinking, but that syntax is only for railway, you still have to use process.env in your code

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:03 AM

#

lol

#

okay so i will use that but what do I put in the env file then? i was thinking this was the wrong teh second i screenshotted it

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:04 AM

#

solemn bobcat

and those are the wrong object values, youll want to have a look at this
https://github.com/mysqljs/mysql#connection-options

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:05 AM

#

Yeah the way it was set up before the screenshot was simiilar

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:05 AM

#

solemn bobcat okay so i will use that but what do I put in the env file then? i was thinking t...

okay you've changed my mind, let's talk about how railway makes your .env file obsolete

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:06 AM

#

solemn bobcat Yeah the way it was set up before the screenshot was simiilar

correct, the way you had it before was more correct, but we needed to tackle the reference variables or else you would run into issues down the road

#

we will come back to the .env file topic in a bit, for now, delete your .env file

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:07 AM

#

potent quartz we will come back to the .env file topic in a bit, for now, delete your .env fil...

Done

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:07 AM

#

and show me your new connection code once you've done that

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:08 AM

#

Well nothings changed except I reverted the copy paste oh okay I saw your edit one sec

#

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:10 AM

#

you are not using all the needed variables, you must use all the database variables you had in railway
with the exception of the database url variable, you don't need to use that

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:11 AM

#

#

It was actually at the top of my file as a separate const variable I just threw it in

#

oh shit hold up i gotta delete the semi colon

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:12 AM

#

the object field names are correct, but you need to use the variable names from railway

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:13 AM

#

Okay will do rn

#

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:16 AM

#

I said the object field names are correct, you did the exact opposite of what I'd thought you'd do lol

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:16 AM

#

Oh

#

so change the values not the properties?

#

with the values from the ref vars on railway? wouldnt that expose the sensitive info if my repo was public?

#

its private btw

#

I'm sorry I'm literally a noob except for front end stuff not including js

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:17 AM

#

host: process.env.MYSQLHOST

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:18 AM

#

Oh okay

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:18 AM

#

makes sense?

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:18 AM

#

yessir

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:20 AM

#

potent quartz host: process.env.MYSQLHOST

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:20 AM

#

looks correct

#

do you have the railway cli installed?

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:21 AM

#

yup

#

oh i see whats next

#

cause i tried literally everything

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:21 AM

#

what's next?

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:21 AM

#

use the cli to link the database then railway up?

#

if i remember correctly

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:22 AM

#

nope, you deploy from github, no railway up

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:22 AM

#

lol so why ask if i have the cli installed?

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:22 AM

#

well something comes next, but it's not what you said lol

#

do you have your project linked to the service we have been adding reference variables to?

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:23 AM

#

Okay so Ima commit push this

#

yeah the websites live already

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:23 AM

#

nope

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:23 AM

#

oh okay i wont commit push this

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:23 AM

#

slow your horses, we are tackling the .env thing, or the lack there of .env thing

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:24 AM

#

Right I forgot about that

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:24 AM

#

do you have the cli linked to your railway project and service from the folder you are currently in?

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:25 AM

#

I can access it from the terminal on vscode which has the repo opened locally

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:25 AM

#

not what I asked

#

do you have the railway cli installed

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:25 AM

#

On my laptop yeah

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:25 AM

#

do you have the cli linked to your railway project and service from the folder you are currently in?

#

this has nothing to do with github

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:26 AM

#

I believe no

#

I have the cli installed and I can access it from the terminal but its not linked to the railway project

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:27 AM

#

link it

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:28 AM

#

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:28 AM

#

now link a service railway service

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:30 AM

#

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:30 AM

#

run railway variables and do you see all the database variables properly printed?

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:32 AM

#

Yessir

#

It's set up on a 2 column table and accurate

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:32 AM

#

okay now are you starting to see how the cli can replace your .env file

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:32 AM

#

Yeah I am actually

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:33 AM

#

the final touch is using railway run <the command you normally use to start your app locally>
this will run your app with the environment variables available, no variables will be written to disk

#

see how that's better than a plaintext file with your database credentials in it?

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:34 AM

#

Yeah it's a smoother process maybe longer but smoother. Should I push the changes I made to github first or just leave as is?

#

Actually its only longer cause this is the first time I'm doing it lol

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:35 AM

#

well go and use railway run first, gotta check that your code does work

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:35 AM

#

okay

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:35 AM

#

solemn bobcat Actually its only longer cause this is the first time I'm doing it lol

yes exactly

#

I'd like to note that if the cli ever tells you to do railway up do not do it, ignore that message, that message is a bug and should never be printed

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:37 AM

#

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:38 AM

#

🥳🥳🥳

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:38 AM

#

Thank you so much man there's no way I would've been able to pull this off I had no idea about the ref vars THANK YOU!

#

Cheers mate

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:38 AM

#

yeah I told the team they need better docs on that, reference variables catch even experienced devs off guard, so don't feel bad for not understanding

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:39 AM

#

Thank you man I'll only be a noob for so much longer but I'm glad this final hurdle is done

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:40 AM

#

awesome, best of luck!

#

(you can push to github now lol)

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:51 AM

#

Hey I'm sorry for bothering again but I don't get any error messages in the deploy log I actually get a success message about the database making a connection yet the server fails to load the website now.

#

I think I should make a new support thread or whatever its called I will if it's not fit to put it here

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:53 AM

#

what is that chrome theme 💀

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:53 AM

#

potent quartz what is that chrome theme 💀

The dark one cause yeah lol

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:53 AM

#

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/dark-10/baebencgofnhbdimnijacljeoegbokeh

Dark-10

A browser theme that blends in with Win10's dark theme.

#

this is where it's at

#

off topic though lol

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:54 AM

#

solemn bobcat Hey I'm sorry for bothering again but I don't get any error messages in the depl...

this is express right?

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:56 AM

#

potent quartz this is express right?

Correct

#

Honestly there's no passwords to hide I may as well temporarily make the repo public

#

But yeah its express

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 1:56 AM

#

sounds good

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:56 AM

#

Okay I'll do that and link the github link real quick

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 1:59 AM

#

potent quartz sounds good

I gotta update the readme but this is it
https://github.com/hiphiphorhayy/montoyamasonry

GitHub

GitHub - hiphiphorhayy/montoyamasonry

Contribute to hiphiphorhayy/montoyamasonry development by creating an account on GitHub.

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:01 AM

#

10/10 readme

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:01 AM

#

hahahahahaa

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:02 AM

#

I'm confused

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:02 AM

#

solemn bobcat

in this screenshot you ran npm run start

#

but the package.json in that repo does not have a start script?

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:03 AM

#

Yeah I'm confused about that too honestly

#

Also I have no idea if this new problem is big or tiny cause it just doesnt give an error msg

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:03 AM

#

and railway would error out by default if you don't have a start script in your package.json

#

check the service settings, do you have a start command set in there?

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:04 AM

#

It's worked for a couple days now I have npm run start in the settings for the website service on railway as the start command

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:04 AM

#

what's it set to

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:04 AM

#

npm run start

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:05 AM

#

but you don't have a start script in your package.json

#

are you sure this is the same repo that your service is set to deploy from

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:05 AM

#

Yeah I think I'm gonna make it I believe it starts up the express server

#

I'm 100% sure

#

If the pages could atleast load you could see for yourself

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:05 AM

#

but you don't have a start script in the package.json

#

you can't run npm run start without a start script

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:06 AM

#

Yeah I noticed this odd situation awhile ago and kind of just ignored it

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:06 AM

#

I can't ignore it

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:06 AM

#

No I know it's an issue now I can make a start script but not sure exactly what the value would be. I believe it would be node server.js

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:06 AM

#

that's correct

#

do that, then remove the start command from the service settings

#

make sure you click the checkmark when you remove the start command

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:07 AM

#

Okay

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:08 AM

#

https://github.com/hiphiphorhayy/montoyamasonry/blob/master/server.js#L57
use process.env.PORT || 3000 instead
you do not need to add a PORT service variable yourself since railway makes one for you behind the scenes

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:08 AM

#

I deleted it in railway settings and now I'm gonna commit push the addition of it in my package json file

#

Oh okay I'll do that too then commit push

#

Same change for the console log under what you highlighted?

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:11 AM

#

delete the node_modules folder from the github repo
https://www.toptal.com/developers/gitignore/api/node
then use that as your .gitignore file

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:11 AM

#

where it says process.env.PORT?

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:11 AM

#

solemn bobcat Same change for the console log under what you highlighted?

yes! good catch!

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:13 AM

#

Wait so that link I copy paste it into the gitignore file or put it in a type of file then link the git ignore file to that file?

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:14 AM

#

the contents of that link

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:14 AM

#

in the gitignore file got it okay

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:14 AM

#

yep

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:15 AM

#

Okay I'm boutta push this to the repo

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:33 AM

#

potent quartz yep

Thanks again it works now I just have to deal with some bugs on the front end with the contact form but I got somewhat far on my own so Ima try to tackle them on my own

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:41 AM

#

what kind of frontend is it?

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:44 AM

#

potent quartz what kind of frontend is it?

tailwind css

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:45 AM

#

yes lol but what framework

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:46 AM

#

Just small things like before I had the index.js file with a fetch method to send form data to the back end so it can be sent as an automated email but i quit that for a database approach because i couldn't figure it out and didn't want to deal with azure (outlook email) but the code stayed the same so i gotta update it for this database along with the app.post method i gotta update that too a bit

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:46 AM

#

potent quartz yes lol but what framework

none

#

just tailwind css, express, node?

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:47 AM

#

for the frontend? no react, Vue, etc?

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:47 AM

#

Nope I kind of want to learn vanilla so I know whats going on cause things are abstracted as it is and I'm still learning

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:48 AM

#

very good take

#

how are you serving the frontend?

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:48 AM

#

express static middleware I believe

#

I sort of don't know what I'm saying just saying lol

#

It's in the repo if you want to look

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:49 AM

#

oh I see now, not the most performant but definitely adequate for a beginner

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:49 AM

#

potent quartz oh I see now, not the most performant but definitely adequate for a beginner

Yeah I'm not gonna learn C or anything but I can't start with a serverless react project lmao

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:50 AM

#

oh no that's definitely not what I was getting at

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:50 AM

#

Oh okay

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:51 AM

#

I'm talking about just serving your frontend with an actual web server and not express middleware, but don't worry about that the middleware is perfectly fine for now

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:51 AM

#

True I'll learn more as I go on

potent quartz Oct 4, 2023, 2:51 AM

#

sounds good!!

#

I wish you luck in your development adventures

solemn bobcat Oct 4, 2023, 2:52 AM

#

Appreciate your help again Ima go take care of these bugs now 🙏🏽 peace

#Timed out error connecting backend to MySQL database