diff --git a/app/connectionHandler.js b/app/connectionHandler.js
index 98ad252..7bb8a0d 100644
--- a/app/connectionHandler.js
+++ b/app/connectionHandler.js
@@ -1,13 +1,55 @@
 // server
 // app/connectionHandler.js
+
 const createDebug = require("debug")
-const path = require("path")
 const fs = require("fs")
+const path = require("path")
 
 const debug = createDebug("webssh2:connectionHandler")
 
+/**
+ * Modify the HTML content by replacing certain placeholders with dynamic values.
+ * @param {string} html - The original HTML content.
+ * @param {Object} config - The configuration object to inject into the HTML.
+ * @returns {string} - The modified HTML content.
+ */
+function modifyHtml(html, config) {
+  const modifiedHtml = html.replace(
+    /(src|href)="(?!http|\/\/)/g,
+    '$1="/ssh/assets/'
+  )
+
+  return modifiedHtml.replace(
+    "window.webssh2Config = null;",
+    `window.webssh2Config = ${JSON.stringify(config)};`
+  )
+}
+
+/**
+ * Handle reading the file and processing the response.
+ * @param {string} filePath - The path to the HTML file.
+ * @param {Object} config - The configuration object to inject into the HTML.
+ * @param {Object} res - The Express response object.
+ */
+function handleFileRead(filePath, config, res) {
+  // eslint-disable-next-line consistent-return
+  fs.readFile(filePath, "utf8", function(err, data) {
+    if (err) {
+      return res.status(500).send("Error loading client file")
+    }
+
+    const modifiedHtml = modifyHtml(data, config)
+    res.send(modifiedHtml)
+  })
+}
+
+/**
+ * Handle the connection request and send the modified client HTML.
+ * @param {Object} req - The Express request object.
+ * @param {Object} res - The Express response object.
+ */
 function handleConnection(req, res) {
-  debug("Handling connection")
+  debug("Handling connection req.path:", req.path)
 
   const clientPath = path.resolve(
     __dirname,
@@ -23,33 +65,11 @@ function handleConnection(req, res) {
       url: `${req.protocol}://${req.get("host")}`,
       path: "/ssh/socket.io"
     },
-    autoConnect: false // Default to false
+    autoConnect: req.path.startsWith("/host/") // Automatically connect if path starts with /host/
   }
 
-  // Check if the current route is /host/:host
-  debug("handleConnection req.path:", req.path)
-  if (req.path.startsWith("/host/")) {
-    tempConfig.autoConnect = true
-  }
-
-  fs.readFile(path.join(clientPath, "client.htm"), "utf8", function(err, data) {
-    if (err) {
-      return res.status(500).send("Error loading client file")
-    }
-
-    let modifiedHtml = data.replace(
-      /(src|href)="(?!http|\/\/)/g,
-      '$1="/ssh/assets/'
-    )
-
-    modifiedHtml = modifiedHtml.replace(
-      "window.webssh2Config = null;",
-      `window.webssh2Config = ${JSON.stringify(tempConfig)};`
-    )
-
-    res.send(modifiedHtml)
-    // Explicitly return to satisfy the linter
-  })
+  const filePath = path.join(clientPath, "client.htm")
+  handleFileRead(filePath, tempConfig, res)
 }
 
 module.exports = handleConnection
diff --git a/app/routes.js b/app/routes.js
index 8d74115..8189ba1 100644
--- a/app/routes.js
+++ b/app/routes.js
@@ -9,9 +9,14 @@ const router = express.Router()
 const basicAuth = require("basic-auth")
 const maskObject = require("jsmasker")
 const validator = require("validator")
-const { validateSshTerm } = require("./utils")
+const {
+  getValidatedHost,
+  getValidatedPort,
+  validateSshTerm
+} = require("./utils")
 const handleConnection = require("./connectionHandler")
 
+// eslint-disable-next-line consistent-return
 function auth(req, res, next) {
   debug("auth: Basic Auth")
   const credentials = basicAuth(req)
@@ -30,38 +35,26 @@ function auth(req, res, next) {
 
 // Scenario 1: No auth required, uses websocket authentication instead
 router.get("/", function(req, res) {
-  debug("Accessed / route")
+  debug("router.get./: Accessed / route")
   handleConnection(req, res)
 })
 
+// Scenario 2: Auth required, uses HTTP Basic Auth
 // Scenario 2: Auth required, uses HTTP Basic Auth
 router.get("/host/:host", auth, function(req, res) {
-  debug(`Accessed /ssh/host/${req.params.host} route`)
+  debug(`router.get.host: /ssh/host/${req.params.host} route`)
 
-  // Validate and sanitize host parameter
-  const host = validator.isIP(req.params.host)
-    ? req.params.host
-    : validator.escape(req.params.host)
+  const host = getValidatedHost(req.params.host)
+  const port = getValidatedPort(req.query.port)
 
-  // Validate and sanitize port parameter if it exists
-  const port = req.query.port
-    ? validator.isPort(req.query.port)
-      ? parseInt(req.query.port, 10)
-      : 22
-    : 22 // Default to 22 if port is not provided
-
-  // Validate and sanitize sshTerm parameter if it exists
-  const sshTerm = req.query.sshTerm
-    ? validateSshTerm(req.query.sshTerm)
-      ? req.query.sshTerm
-      : null
-    : null // Default to 'xterm-color' if sshTerm is not provided
+  // Validate and sanitize sshterm parameter if it exists
+  const sshterm = validateSshTerm(req.query.sshterm)
 
   req.session.sshCredentials = req.session.sshCredentials || {}
   req.session.sshCredentials.host = host
   req.session.sshCredentials.port = port
-  if (req.query.sshTerm) {
-    req.session.sshCredentials.term = sshTerm
+  if (req.query.sshterm) {
+    req.session.sshCredentials.term = sshterm
   }
   req.session.usedBasicAuth = true
 
diff --git a/app/socket.js b/app/socket.js
index e5a5808..0c2927f 100644
--- a/app/socket.js
+++ b/app/socket.js
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ const debug = createDebug("webssh2:socket")
 const maskObject = require("jsmasker")
 const validator = require("validator")
 const SSHConnection = require("./ssh")
-const { validateSshTerm } = require("./utils")
+const { validateSshTerm, isValidCredentials } = require("./utils")
 
 module.exports = function(io, config) {
   io.on("connection", function(socket) {
@@ -79,15 +79,15 @@ module.exports = function(io, config) {
             `initializeConnection: ${socket.id} conn.on ready: ${creds.username}@${creds.host}:${creds.port} successfully connected`
           )
 
-          const auth_result = { action: "auth_result", success: true }
+          const authResult = { action: "auth_result", success: true }
           debug(
             `initializeConnection: ${
               socket.id
             } conn.on ready: emitting authentication: ${JSON.stringify(
-              auth_result
+              authResult
             )}`
           )
-          socket.emit("authentication", auth_result)
+          socket.emit("authentication", authResult)
 
           // Emit consolidated permissions
           const permissions = {
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ module.exports = function(io, config) {
           })
 
           stream.on("close", function(code, signal) {
-            debug(`handleStreamClose: ${socket.id}`)
+            debug(`handleStreamClose: ${socket.id}: ${code}, ${signal}`)
             handleConnectionClose()
           })
 
@@ -339,15 +339,20 @@ module.exports = function(io, config) {
       debug(
         `clearSessionCredentials: Clearing session credentials for ${socket.id}`
       )
-      if (socket.handshake.session.sshCredentials) {
-        socket.handshake.session.sshCredentials.username = null
-        socket.handshake.session.sshCredentials.password = null
+
+      const { session } = socket.handshake
+
+      if (session.sshCredentials) {
+        session.sshCredentials.username = null
+        session.sshCredentials.password = null
       }
-      socket.handshake.session.usedBasicAuth = false
+
+      session.usedBasicAuth = false
       sessionState.authenticated = false
       sessionState.username = null
       sessionState.password = null
-      socket.handshake.session.save(function(err) {
+
+      session.save(function(err) {
         if (err) {
           console.error(`Failed to save session for ${socket.id}:`, err)
         }
@@ -376,23 +381,3 @@ module.exports = function(io, config) {
     socket.on("disconnect", handleConnectionClose)
   })
 }
-
-/**
- * Checks if the provided credentials object is valid.
- *
- * @param {Object} creds - The credentials object.
- * @param {string} creds.username - The username.
- * @param {string} creds.password - The password.
- * @param {string} creds.host - The host.
- * @param {number} creds.port - The port.
- * @returns {boolean} - Returns true if the credentials are valid, otherwise false.
- */
-function isValidCredentials(creds) {
-  return (
-    creds &&
-    typeof creds.username === "string" &&
-    typeof creds.password === "string" &&
-    typeof creds.host === "string" &&
-    typeof creds.port === "number"
-  )
-}
diff --git a/app/utils.js b/app/utils.js
index 0423d21..66b3a63 100644
--- a/app/utils.js
+++ b/app/utils.js
@@ -6,25 +6,6 @@ const crypto = require("crypto")
 
 const debug = createDebug("webssh2:utils")
 
-/**
- * Validates the SSH terminal name using validator functions.
- * Allows alphanumeric characters, hyphens, and periods.
- * @param {string} term - The terminal name to validate
- * @returns {boolean} True if the terminal name is valid, false otherwise
- */
-function validateSshTerm(term) {
-  debug(`validateSshTerm: %O`, term)
-
-  if (term === undefined || term === null) {
-    return false
-  }
-  return (
-    validator.isLength(term, { min: 1, max: 30 }) &&
-    validator.matches(term, /^[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+$/)
-  )
-}
-
-exports.validateSshTerm = validateSshTerm
 /**
  * Deep merges two objects
  * @param {Object} target - The target object to merge into
@@ -48,7 +29,7 @@ function deepMerge(target, source) {
   })
   return output
 }
-exports.deepMerge = deepMerge
+
 /**
  * Generates a secure random session secret
  * @returns {string} A random 32-byte hex string
@@ -56,4 +37,100 @@ exports.deepMerge = deepMerge
 function generateSecureSecret() {
   return crypto.randomBytes(32).toString("hex")
 }
-exports.generateSecureSecret = generateSecureSecret
+
+/**
+ * Determines if a given host is an IP address or a hostname.
+ * If it's a hostname, it escapes it for safety.
+ *
+ * @param {string} host - The host string to validate and escape.
+ * @returns {string} - The original IP or escaped hostname.
+ */
+function getValidatedHost(host) {
+  let validatedHost
+
+  if (validator.isIP(host)) {
+    validatedHost = host
+  } else {
+    validatedHost = validator.escape(host)
+  }
+
+  return validatedHost
+}
+
+/**
+ * Validates and sanitizes a port value.
+ * If no port is provided, defaults to port 22.
+ * If a port is provided, checks if it is a valid port number (1-65535).
+ * If the port is invalid, defaults to port 22.
+ *
+ * @param {string} [portInput] - The port string to validate and parse.
+ * @returns {number} - The validated port number.
+ */
+function getValidatedPort(portInput) {
+  const defaultPort = 22
+  const port = defaultPort
+  debug("getValidatedPort: input: %O", portInput)
+
+  if (portInput) {
+    if (validator.isInt(portInput, { min: 1, max: 65535 })) {
+      return parseInt(portInput, 10)
+    }
+  }
+  debug(
+    "getValidatedPort: port not specified or is invalid, setting port to: %O",
+    port
+  )
+
+  return port
+}
+
+/**
+ * Checks if the provided credentials object is valid.
+ *
+ * @param {Object} creds - The credentials object.
+ * @param {string} creds.username - The username.
+ * @param {string} creds.password - The password.
+ * @param {string} creds.host - The host.
+ * @param {number} creds.port - The port.
+ * @returns {boolean} - Returns true if the credentials are valid, otherwise false.
+ */
+function isValidCredentials(creds) {
+  return (
+    creds &&
+    typeof creds.username === "string" &&
+    typeof creds.password === "string" &&
+    typeof creds.host === "string" &&
+    typeof creds.port === "number"
+  )
+}
+
+/**
+ * Validates and sanitizes the SSH terminal name using validator functions.
+ * Allows alphanumeric characters, hyphens, and periods.
+ * Returns null if the terminal name is invalid or not provided.
+ *
+ * @param {string} [term] - The terminal name to validate.
+ * @returns {string|null} - The sanitized terminal name if valid, null otherwise.
+ */
+function validateSshTerm(term) {
+  debug(`validateSshTerm: %O`, term)
+
+  if (!term) {
+    return null
+  }
+
+  const validatedSshTerm =
+    validator.isLength(term, { min: 1, max: 30 }) &&
+    validator.matches(term, /^[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+$/)
+
+  return validatedSshTerm ? term : null
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  deepMerge,
+  generateSecureSecret,
+  getValidatedHost,
+  getValidatedPort,
+  isValidCredentials,
+  validateSshTerm
+}