Update flow-go version to v0.44 release branch

[m-Peter]

Description

Preparation for the TN/MN HCUs which set the activation timestamps for the Fusaka hard-fork.

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For contributor use:

• Targeted PR against master branch
• Linked to Github issue with discussion and accepted design OR link to spec that describes this work.
• Code follows the standards mentioned here.
• Updated relevant documentation
• Re-reviewed Files changed in the Github PR explorer
• Added appropriate labels

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Chores
  • Updated core dependencies including Flow libraries to latest versions.
  • Refreshed experimental variants and indirect dependencies to maintain compatibility and stability.

[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

This PR updates Go module dependencies in go.mod and tests/go.mod, bumping flow-go, flow-emulator, flow-core-contracts, and related packages to newer versions with no source code changes.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
Primary module dependency updates go.mod	Bumped github.com/onflow/flow-go to experimental-cadence v0.44.0-experimental-cadence-v1.8.3.0.20251111112227-097f521427a5; updated github.com/onflow/flow-core-contracts/lib/go/contracts and templates from v1.9.1 to v1.9.2
Test module dependency updates tests/go.mod	Updated github.com/onflow/flow-emulator to v1.12.1; synced github.com/onflow/flow-go to match primary module; bumped flow-core-contracts to v1.9.2; replaced multiple modernc.org/* modules with newer versions; removed go-shellquote, added go-strftime; updated golang.org/x/* dependencies

Estimated code review effort

🎯 1 (Trivial) | ⏱️ ~5 minutes

• No source code changes, only manifest file updates
• Dependency version bumps are straightforward and mechanical in nature
• Verify that bumped versions are stable releases and compatible with existing codebase

Possibly related PRs

• Enable EVM Fusaka hard-fork #913: Both PRs modify the same go.mod dependencies—bumping github.com/onflow/flow-go experimental-cadence version and flow-core-contracts
• Bump flow-go version to v0.43.0 #881: Both PRs bump the same dependency entries (onflow/flow-go and flow-core-contracts) across go.mod files
• [Back-port] Update to latest flow-go for Forte upgrade #905: Both PRs perform direct dependency bumps to github.com/onflow/flow-go in go.mod

Suggested reviewers

• peterargue
• zhangchiqing
• janezpodhostnik

Poem

🐰 A hop through versions, a dance of the deps,
Flow-go and contracts take measured steps,
From nine-point-one to nine-point-two,
Modernc libraries made fresh anew,
Dependencies align, the build is set! 🎯

Pre-merge checks and finishing touches

✅ Passed checks (3 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The PR title accurately reflects the main change: updating flow-go to a v0.44 release branch version, which is the primary modification across both go.mod files.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.

✨ Finishing touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Post copyable unit tests in a comment
• Commit unit tests in branch mpeter/update-flow-go

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📜 Recent review details

Configuration used: CodeRabbit UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 404c556 and a9081f9.

⛔ Files ignored due to path filters (2)

• go.sum is excluded by !**/*.sum
• tests/go.sum is excluded by !**/*.sum

📒 Files selected for processing (2)

• go.mod (2 hunks)
• tests/go.mod (4 hunks)

🧰 Additional context used

🧠 Learnings (1)

📚 Learning: 2025-01-29T17:20:28.143Z

Learnt from: m-Peter
Repo: onflow/flow-evm-gateway PR: 738
File: .github/workflows/ci.yml:19-19
Timestamp: 2025-01-29T17:20:28.143Z
Learning: Go 1.23 was released and is available for use in CI/CD pipelines and Docker images.

Applied to files:

• tests/go.mod

🔇 Additional comments (3)

tests/go.mod (2)

157-157: Verify transitive dependency updates are compatible.

The tests/go.mod file includes new or updated indirect dependencies (ncruces/go-strftime v0.1.9, modernc.org modules updated). These appear to be transitive dependencies from the flow-emulator v1.12.1 bump. Confirm that these versions do not conflict with existing constraints in the codebase or introduce compatibility issues.

As a follow-up, you may want to:

1. Run go mod tidy to verify the module graph is clean.
2. Run integration tests locally to confirm no runtime failures with the new dependency versions.

Also applies to: 258-261

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10-10: Verify that the unreleased flow-emulator pseudo-version is intentional and tested.

The go.mod pins flow-emulator to v1.12.1-0.20251112150210-ab3ddcde0cdc, which is a pseudo-version (an unreleased commit from Nov 12, 2025) rather than an official release. The latest official release is v1.12.0. While the integration test bootstrap patterns appear compatible, using unreleased versions carries risk. Confirm this was intentional and that the specific commit has been validated.

go.mod (1)

14-14: Verify compatibility: flow-go v0.44.0-experimental-cadence-v1.8.3 with flow-core-contracts v1.9.2.

flow-go v0.44 (Forte) was officially released with flow-core-contracts v1.7.2, with later updates to v1.8.1. Your PR pins flow-core-contracts v1.9.2, which is newer and not officially tested with Forte v0.44. The pseudo-version timestamp (20251111) indicates an experimental Cadence variant currently under development.

Key risk: flow-core-contracts v1.9.2 introduces updates to Go templates/contracts and child-account scheduled-transaction logic, but compatibility with the experimental v0.44.0-experimental-cadence-v1.8.3 variant is unclear. Ensure this combination has been validated in your testing environment before merging.

Note: Forte is already live on Flow mainnet (Oct 22–27, 2025); it is not a pending hard-fork.

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