Unify column option storage and mutation contracts - #2769

Node.js 20 is deprecated. The following actions target Node.js 20 but are being forced to run on Node.js 24: actions/upload-artifact@v5, gradle/actions/setup-gradle@v4. For more information see: https://github.blog/changelog/2025-09-19-deprecation-of-node-20-on-github-actions-runners/