chore: remove v9 references + minor readme updates (#7962)

* chore: remove v9 references + minor readme updates

* markdown lint

* Update RELEASES.md

Co-authored-by: Aditya <[email protected]>

---------

Co-authored-by: Aditya <[email protected]>

.github/mergify.yml

@@ -70,14 +70,6 @@ pull_request_rules:
       backport:
         branches:
           - 08-wasm/release/v0.5.x+ibc-go-v8.4.x-wasmvm-v2.1.x
-  - name: backport patches to v0.5.x wasm ibc-go v9.0.x & wasmvm 2.1.x branch
-    conditions:
-      - base=main
-      - label=backport-wasm-v0.5.x+ibc-go-v9.0.x-wasmvm-v2.1.x
-    actions:
-      backport:
-        branches:
-          - 08-wasm/release/v0.5.x+ibc-go-v9.0.x-wasmvm-v2.1.x
   - name: backport patches to v7.4.x branch
     conditions:
       - base=main
@@ -134,14 +126,6 @@ pull_request_rules:
       backport:
         branches:
           - release/v8.5.x
-  - name: backport patches to v9.0.x branch
-    conditions:
-      - base=main
-      - label=backport-to-v9.0.x
-    actions:
-      backport:
-        branches:
-          - release/v9.0.x
   - name: backport patches to v10.0.x branch
     conditions:
       - base=main

.github/workflows/e2e-compatibility.yaml

@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ on:
           - release/v7.8.x
           - release/v8.4.x
           - release/v8.5.x
-          - release/v9.0.x
           - release/v10.0.x
           - main
       ibc-go-version:
@@ -62,7 +61,6 @@ jobs:
           - release/v7.8.x
           - release/v8.4.x
           - release/v8.5.x
-          - release/v9.0.x
           - release/v10.0.x
           - main
     steps:

.github/workflows/e2e-manual-simd.yaml

@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ on:
         default: main
         options:
           - main
-          - v9.0.0
+          - v10.0.0
           - v8.5.0
           - v8.4.0
           - v7.7.0
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ on:
         type: choice
         options:
           - main
-          - v9.0.0
+          - v10.0.0
           - v8.5.0
           - v8.4.0
           - v7.7.0

.github/workflows/e2e-upgrade.yaml

@@ -69,25 +69,25 @@ jobs:
       test: "TestV8ToV8_1ChainUpgrade_FeeMiddlewareChannelUpgrade"
       upload-logs: true
 
-  upgrade-v9:
+  upgrade-v10:
     uses: ./.github/workflows/e2e-test-workflow-call.yml
     with:
       chain-image: ghcr.io/cosmos/ibc-go-simd
-      chain-a-tag: v8.4.0
-      chain-b-tag: v8.4.0
-      upgrade-plan-name: "v9"
+      chain-a-tag: v8.5.0
+      chain-b-tag: v8.5.0
+      upgrade-plan-name: "v10"
       test-entry-point:  "TestUpgradeTestSuite"
-      test: "TestV8ToV9ChainUpgrade"
+      test: "TestV8ToV10ChainUpgrade"
       upload-logs: true
 
-  upgrade-v9-localhost:
+  upgrade-v10-localhost:
     uses: ./.github/workflows/e2e-test-workflow-call.yml
     with:
       chain-image: ghcr.io/cosmos/ibc-go-simd
       chain-a-tag: v8.4.0
       chain-b-tag: v8.4.0
-      upgrade-plan-name: "v9"
+      upgrade-plan-name: "v10"
       test-entry-point:  "TestUpgradeTestSuite"
-      test: "TestV8ToV9ChainUpgrade_Localhost"
+      test: "TestV8ToV10ChainUpgrade_Localhost"
       upload-logs: true
 

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -44,6 +44,10 @@ Ref: https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/
 ### Dependencies
 
 * [\#7540](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7540) Bump CometBFT to v0.38.15.
+* [\#6193](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/6193) Bump `cosmossdk.io/store` to v1.1.0.
+* [\#6828](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/6828) Bump Cosmos SDK to v0.50.9.
+* [\#6380](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/6380) Bump go to v1.22.
+* [\#7223](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7223) Update ics23 to v0.11.0.
 
 ### API Breaking
 
@@ -60,35 +64,6 @@ Ref: https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/
 * (capability) [\#7279](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7279) The module `capability` has been removed.
 * (testing) [\#7305](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7305) Added `TrustedValidators` map to `TestChain`. This removes the dependency on the `x/staking` module for retrieving trusted validator sets at a given height, and removes the `GetTrustedValidators` method from the `TestChain` struct.
 * (23-commitment) [\#7486](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7486) Remove unimplemented `BatchVerifyMembership` and `BatchVerifyNonMembership` functions
-
-### State Machine Breaking
-
-### Improvements
-
-* (testing)[\#7430](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7430) Update the block proposer in test chains for each block.
-
-### Features
-
-* (apps/transfer) [\#7650](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7650) Add support for transfer of entire balance for vesting accounts
-
-### Bug Fixes
-
-* (apps/27-interchain-accounts) [\#7277](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7277) Use `GogoResolver` when populating module query safe allow list to avoid panics from unresolvable protobuf dependencies.
-* (core/04-channel) [\#7342](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7342) Read Tx cmd flags including from address to avoid Address cannot be empty error when upgrade-channels via cli.
-* (core/03-connection) [\#7397](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7397) Skip the genesis validation connectionID for localhost client.
-
-## [v9.0.0](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/releases/tag/v9.0.0) - 2024-10-01
-
-### Dependencies
-
-* [\#6828](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/6828) Bump Cosmos SDK to v0.50.9.
-* [\#6193](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/6193) Bump `cosmossdk.io/store` to v1.1.0.
-* [\#7126](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7126) Bump CometBFT to v0.38.11.
-* [\#6380](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/6380) Bump go to v1.22.
-* [\#7223](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7223) Update ics23 to v0.11.0.
-
-### API Breaking
-
 * (core/02-client, light-clients) [\#5806](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/5806) Decouple light client routing from their encoding structure.
 * (core/04-channel) [\#5991](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/5991) The client CLI `QueryLatestConsensusState` has been removed.
 * (light-clients/06-solomachine) [\#6037](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/6037) Remove `Initialize` function from `ClientState` and move logic to `Initialize` function of `LightClientModule`.
@@ -121,18 +96,22 @@ Ref: https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/
 
 ### Improvements
 
+* (testing)[\#7430](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7430) Update the block proposer in test chains for each block.
 * (apps/27-interchain-accounts) [\#5533](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/5533) ICA host sets the host connection ID on `OnChanOpenTry`, so that ICA controller implementations are not obliged to set the value on `OnChanOpenInit` if they are not able.
 * (core/02-client, core/03-connection, apps/27-interchain-accounts) [\#6256](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/6256) Add length checking of array fields in messages.
 
 ### Features
 
-* (apps/transfer) [\#6492](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/6492) Added new `Tokens` field to `MsgTransfer` to enable sending of multiple denoms, and deprecated the `Token` field.
-* (apps/transfer) [\#6693](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/6693) Added new `Forwarding` field to `MsgTransfer` to enable forwarding tokens through multiple intermediary chains with a single transaction. This also enables automatic unwinding of tokens to their native chain. `x/authz` support for transfer allows granters to specify a set of possible forwarding hops that are allowed for grantees.
+* (apps/transfer) [\#7650](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7650) Add support for transfer of entire balance for vesting accounts
 
 ### Bug Fixes
 
+* (apps/27-interchain-accounts) [\#7277](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7277) Use `GogoResolver` when populating module query safe allow list to avoid panics from unresolvable protobuf dependencies.
+* (core/04-channel) [\#7342](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7342) Read Tx cmd flags including from address to avoid Address cannot be empty error when upgrade-channels via cli.
+* (core/03-connection) [\#7397](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/7397) Skip the genesis validation connectionID for localhost client.
 * (apps/27-interchain-accounts) [\#6377](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/pull/6377) Generate ICA simtest proposals only for provided keepers.
 
+
 ## [v8.5.0](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/releases/tag/v8.5.0) - 2024-08-30
 
 ### Dependencies

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ Contributing to this repository can mean many things such as participating in di
 
 If you find that something is not working as expected, please open an issue using the [bug report template](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/blob/main/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug-report.md) and provide as much information possible: how can the bug be reproduced? What's the expected behavior? What version is affected?
 
+This is also true if you plan to fix the bug yourself and submit a PR. As a general rule, we want contributing pull requests to reference an existing issue. See [Submitting pull requests](#submitting-pull-requests)
+
 ### Proposing improvements or new features
 
 New features or improvements should be written in an issue using the [new feature template](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/blob/main/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature-request.md). Please include in the issue as many details as possible: what use case(s) would this new feature or improvement enable? Why are those use cases important or helpful? what user group would benefit? The team will evaluate and engage with you in a discussion of the proposal, which could have different outcomes:
@@ -23,6 +25,8 @@ New features or improvements should be written in an issue using the [new featur
 - discarding the suggestion if deemed not aligned with the objectives of ibc-go;
 - or proposing (in the case of applications or light clients) to be developed and maintained in a separate repository.
 
+Unless the change is a minor bug fix with minor code changes, and you want to submit a pull request, please make sure to write a Github issue for it before opening the pull request.
+
 ### Architecture Decision Records (ADR)
 
 When proposing an architecture decision for the ibc-go, please create an [ADR](./docs/architecture/README.md) so further discussions can be made. We are following this process so all involved parties are in agreement before any party begins coding the proposed implementation. Please use the [ADR template](./docs/architecture/adr.template.md) to scaffold any new ADR. If you would like to see some examples of how these are written refer to ibc-go's [ADRs](./docs/architecture/). ADRs are solidified designs that will be implemented in ibc-go (and do not have a spec). They should document the architecture that will be built. Most design feedback should be gathered before the initial draft of the ADR. ADR's can/should be written for any design decisions we make which may be changed at some point in the future.
@@ -33,7 +37,10 @@ New features or improvements are sometimes also debated in [discussions](https:/
 
 ### Submitting pull requests
 
-Unless you feel confident your change will be accepted (trivial bug fixes, code cleanup, etc) you should first create an issue to discuss your change with us. This lets us all discuss the design and proposed implementation of your change, which helps ensure your time is well spent and that your contribution will be accepted.
+Before opening a pull request, make sure there is an accompanying issue that has been assigned to you. 
+In the case of smaller changes, opening a pull request without being assigned to the issue **can** be accepted, but to avoid having to redesign or discard your work due to the change no longer being needed, asking to be assigned to the issue is the safest course of action. We welcome contributors, but we have put in place these guidelines to safeguard the time of both external and core contributors.
+
+Unless you feel confident your change will be accepted (see [Unwanted pull requests](#unwanted-pull-requests)) you should first create an issue to discuss your change with us. This lets us all discuss the design and proposed implementation of your change, which helps ensure your time is well spent and that your contribution will be accepted.
 
 Looking for a good place to start contributing? The issue tracker is always the first place to go. Issues are triaged to categorize them:
 
@@ -52,9 +59,13 @@ If you would like to contribute, follow this process:
 
 Please make sure to check out our [Pull request guidelines](./docs/dev/pull-requests.md) for more information.
 
-> Note: At this time, we will not be accepting contributions that only fix spelling
-> or grammar errors in documentation, code or elsewhere. The repository has a nightly job that
-> spell checks all files and will automatically open PRs for any spelling errors.
+#### Unwanted pull requests
+
+To ensure the core maintainers time are spent well, we have certain pull requests we want to avoid:
+
+- Any non-minor pull requests without an **assigned** issue
+- Any non-minor bug fixes without an issue (ideally, also assigned, but we are less strict on this)
+- Spelling mistakes/changes (instead, try to fix our CI so that it would be able to catch it automatically - that would be useful)
 
 ## Relevant development docs
 

README.md

@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ For the latest expected release timelines, please check [here](https://github.co
 
 ## Releases
 
-The release lines currently supported are v7, v8 and v9.
+The release lines currently supported are v7, and v8 (Note: v9 has been retracted and will be replaced by v10).
 
 Please refer to the [Stable Release Policy section of RELEASES.md](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go/blob/main/RELEASES.md#stable-release-policy) for more details.
 

RELEASES.md

@@ -17,9 +17,7 @@ When bumping the dependencies of [Cosmos SDK](https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-s
 
 [ibc-go](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc-go) and the [IBC protocol specification](https://github.com/cosmos/ibc) maintain different versions. Furthermore, ibc-go serves several different user groups (chains, IBC app developers, relayers, IBC light client developers). Each of these groups has different expectations of what *backwards compatible* means. It simply isn't possible to categorize a change as backwards or non backwards compatible for all user groups. We are primarily interested in when our API breaks and when changes are state machine breaking (thus requiring a coordinated upgrade). This is scoping the meaning of ibc-go to that of those interacting with the code (IBC app developers, relayers, IBC light client developers), not chains using IBC to communicate (that should be encapsulated by the IBC protocol specification versioning).
 
-To summarize: **All our ibc-go releases allow chains to communicate successfully with any chain running any version of our code**. That is to say, we are still using IBC protocol specification v1.0.
-
-We ensure all major releases are supported by relayers ([hermes](https://github.com/informalsystems/ibc-rs), [rly](https://github.com/cosmos/relayer) and [ts-relayer](https://github.com/confio/ts-relayer) at the moment) which can relay between the new major release and older releases. We have no plans of upgrading to an IBC protocol specification v2.0, as this would be very disruptive to the ecosystem.
+To summarize: **All our ibc-go releases allow chains to communicate successfully with any chain running any version of our code**. That is to say, we are still using IBC protocol specification v1.0 (v10 will also include support for the IBC protocol specification v2.0 - also called IBC Eureka)
 
 ## Release cycle
 
@@ -78,7 +76,6 @@ We reserve the right to drop support for releases if they are deemed unused (for
 |`v7.8.x`|March 17, 2025|
 |`v8.4.x`|May 10, 2025|
 |`v8.5.x`|May 10, 2025|
-|`v9.0.x`|October 1, 2025|
 
 ### Callbacks middleware
 
@@ -134,7 +131,6 @@ Versions of Golang, Cosmos SDK and CometBFT used by ibc-go in the currently acti
 | 1.19 | v7.8.0 | v0.47.13 | v0.37.5  |
 | 1.21 | v8.4.0 | v0.50.7  | v0.38.7  |
 | 1.21 | v8.5.0 | v0.50.9  | v0.38.11 |
-| 1.22 | v9.0.0 | v0.50.9  | v0.38.11 |
 
 ### Callbacks middleware
 

docs/docusaurus.config.js

@@ -49,17 +49,13 @@ const config = {
           // Exclude template markdown files from the docs
           exclude: ["**/*.template.md"],
           // Select the latest version
-          lastVersion: "v9.0.x",
+          lastVersion: "v8.5.x",
           // Assign banners to specific versions
           versions: {
             current: {
               path: "main",
               banner: "unreleased",
             },
-            "v9.0.x": {
-              path: "v9",
-              banner: "none",
-            },
             "v8.5.x": {
               path: "v8",
               banner: "none",

docs/versions.json

@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 [
-  "v9.0.x",
   "v8.5.x",
   "v7.8.x",
   "v6.3.x",

e2e/ci-e2e-config.yaml

@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ upgrades:
     tag: "v8.0.0"
   - planName: "v8.1"
     tag: "v8.1.0"
-  - planName: "v9"
-    tag: "v9.0.0"
+  - planName: "v10"
+    tag: "v10.0.0-beta.0"
   - planName: "ibcwasm-v8"
     tag: "v8.0.0-e2e-upgrade"

e2e/sample.config.extended.yaml

@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ upgrades:
     tag: "v8.0.0"
   - planName: "v8.1"
     tag: "v8.1.0"
-  - planName: "v9"
-    tag: "v9.0.0"
+  - planName: "v10"
+    tag: "v10.0.0"
   - planName: "ibcwasm-v8"
     tag: "v8.0.0-e2e-upgrade"

e2e/tests/core/02-client/client_test.go

@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ func (s *ClientTestSuite) QueryAllowedClients(ctx context.Context, chain ibc.Cha
 }
 
 // TestScheduleIBCUpgrade_Succeeds tests that a governance proposal to schedule an IBC software upgrade is successful.
-// compatibility:TestScheduleIBCUpgrade_Succeeds:from_versions: v8.4.0,v8.5.0,v9.0.0
+// compatibility:TestScheduleIBCUpgrade_Succeeds:from_versions: v8.4.0,v8.5.0,v10.0.0
 func (s *ClientTestSuite) TestScheduleIBCUpgrade_Succeeds() {
 	t := s.T()
 	ctx := context.TODO()
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ func (s *ClientTestSuite) TestScheduleIBCUpgrade_Succeeds() {
 }
 
 // TestRecoverClient_Succeeds tests that a governance proposal to recover a client using a MsgRecoverClient is successful.
-// compatibility:TestRecoverClient_Succeeds:from_versions: v8.4.0,v8.5.0,v9.0.0
+// compatibility:TestRecoverClient_Succeeds:from_versions: v8.4.0,v8.5.0,v10.0.0
 func (s *ClientTestSuite) TestRecoverClient_Succeeds() {
 	t := s.T()
 	ctx := context.TODO()

e2e/tests/interchain_accounts/base_test.go

@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ func (s *InterchainAccountsTestSuite) TestMsgSendTx_SuccessfulTransfer() {
 	s.testMsgSendTxSuccessfulTransfer(channeltypes.ORDERED)
 }
 
-// compatibility:TestMsgSendTx_SuccessfulTransfer_UnorderedChannel:from_versions: v7.5.0,v7.6.0,v7.7.0,v7.8.0,v8.4.0,v8.5.0,v9.0.0
+// compatibility:TestMsgSendTx_SuccessfulTransfer_UnorderedChannel:from_versions: v7.5.0,v7.6.0,v7.7.0,v7.8.0,v8.4.0,v8.5.0,v10.0.0
 func (s *InterchainAccountsTestSuite) TestMsgSendTx_SuccessfulTransfer_UnorderedChannel() {
 	s.testMsgSendTxSuccessfulTransfer(channeltypes.UNORDERED)
 }

e2e/tests/interchain_accounts/localhost_test.go

@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ type LocalhostInterchainAccountsTestSuite struct {
 	testsuite.E2ETestSuite
 }
 
-// compatibility:TestInterchainAccounts_Localhost:from_versions: v7.4.0,v7.5.0,v7.6.0,v7.7.0,v7.8.0,v8.4.0,v8.5.0,v9.0.0
+// compatibility:TestInterchainAccounts_Localhost:from_versions: v7.4.0,v7.5.0,v7.6.0,v7.7.0,v7.8.0,v8.4.0,v8.5.0,v10.0.0
 func (s *LocalhostInterchainAccountsTestSuite) TestInterchainAccounts_Localhost() {
 	t := s.T()
 	ctx := context.TODO()

e2e/tests/interchain_accounts/params_test.go

@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ func (s *InterchainAccountsParamsTestSuite) TestControllerEnabledParam() {
 	})
 }
 
-// compatibility:TestHostEnabledParam:from_versions: v9.0.0,v8.4.0,v7.5.0
+// compatibility:TestHostEnabledParam:from_versions: v10.0.0,v8.4.0,v7.5.0
 func (s *InterchainAccountsParamsTestSuite) TestHostEnabledParam() {
 	t := s.T()
 	ctx := context.TODO()