I can't connect to local MySQL server through socket 'mysql.sock': "From the manual (http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/Can_not_connect_to_server.html): 'A MySQL client on Unix can connect to the mysqld server in two different ways: By using a Unix socket file to connect through a file in the filesystem (default `/tmp/mysql.sock'), or by using TCP/IP, which connects through a port number. A Unix socket file connection is faster than TCP/IP, but can be used only when connecting to a server on the same computer.' Therefore, do not make up a DSN like: mysql://USER:PASS@unix+HOST/DBNAME it has to be mysql://USER:PASS@HOST/DBNAME"