Hello Sean Campbell
There are multiple reasons why error "MySQL Workbench not being able to load the authentication plugin" may happen.
Here are a few steps you can try to resolve this issue:
- This is a known issue after upgrading to MySQL Workbench 8.0.401. If you're using version 8.0.40, try downgrading to version 8.0.38, as this version didn't have the issue
https://bugs.mysql.com/bug.php?id=116413 - Uninstall MySQL Workbench and reinstall the latest version. This can help ensure that all necessary components are correctly installed.