Refactor socket handling in forwarding handlers to use centralized utilities and remove deprecated functions

readme.hints.md

@@ -640,4 +640,25 @@ export function setupBidirectionalForwarding(
 - **Neutral**: Half-open connections still available when needed (opt-in)
 
 ### Migration Notes
-No configuration changes needed. The fix applies to all proxy chains automatically.
+No configuration changes needed. The fix applies to all proxy chains automatically.
+
+## Socket Cleanup Handler Deprecation (v19.5.15+)
+
+### Issue
+The deprecated `createSocketCleanupHandler()` function was still being used in forwarding handlers, despite being marked as deprecated.
+
+### Solution
+Updated all forwarding handlers to use the new centralized socket utilities:
+1. **Replaced `createSocketCleanupHandler()`** with `setupBidirectionalForwarding()` in:
+   - `https-terminate-to-https-handler.ts`
+   - `https-terminate-to-http-handler.ts`
+2. **Removed deprecated function** from `socket-utils.ts`
+
+### Benefits
+- Consistent socket handling across all handlers
+- Proper cleanup in proxy chains (no half-open connections by default)
+- Better backpressure handling with the centralized implementation
+- Reduced code duplication
+
+### Migration Notes
+No user-facing changes. All forwarding handlers now use the same robust socket handling as the main SmartProxy connection handler.