Several improvements around parameters - #663

Node.js 20 is deprecated. The following actions target Node.js 20 but are being forced to run on Node.js 24: actions/checkout@v4, ilammy/msvc-dev-cmd@v1.4.1, prefix-dev/setup-pixi@v0.8.1. For more information see: https://github.blog/changelog/2025-09-19-deprecation-of-node-20-on-github-actions-runners/