---
title: How to use the account pickup directory
description: The account pickup directory allows the sending of individual messages stored as .eml files to be injected into the Hurricane MTA Server (HMS) and delivered via a specific account. This feature can b
---
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# How to use the account pickup directory
The account pickup directory allows the sending of individual messages stored as .eml files to be injected into the Hurricane MTA Server (HMS) and delivered via a specific account.
This feature can be enabled for a specific account via the account setting's "Other" subsection with the "Pickup Directory" option. When enabled, the HMS periodically scans the directory for that account (e.g. accounts\\1000\\pickup) for incoming messages in RFC-822 format. Remember, it is much faster to submit messages to the SMTP receiver instead of through the file system, so unless you specifically need it we recommend keeping this option turned off.
For the file to by picked up, it must have an ".eml" extension. The e-mail sender must be specified with a X-Sender header. Recipients must be added by creating one or more X-Recipient headers.
For example:
X-Sender: X-Receiver: X-Receiver: From: "Person A" To: "Person B" CC: "Person C" Subject: Example message subject line. This is where the message body will be.
**Notice:** This method is particularly slow since messages must be generated as individual .eml files and are read and processed one at a time. Injection via the pickup directory should not be used for large volumes of email.
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