fix: guard null input in StringUtil.toSafeString to prevent NPE - #169

Node.js 20 is deprecated. The following actions target Node.js 20 but are being forced to run on Node.js 24: actions/checkout@v2, coursier/cache-action@v6, olafurpg/setup-scala@v12. For more information see: https://github.blog/changelog/2025-09-19-deprecation-of-node-20-on-github-actions-runners/