Add new item to inventory via Admin API

[CMsmiley]

Hi community - I'm new to shopify, looking for help:

• How long does it take to add a new item with a photo to my store's inventory so it's available for checkout to my customers via shopify admin API?
• I'm getting conflicting answers, from instant to hours. Can someone help clear this up?

Essentially, I want to have a 3rd party app update and delete my inventory instantly? Instantly meaning under 2 seconds. Is this possible?

Thanks!

[PaulNewton]

Yes possible, responsible .. no, consistently not always.

There is no service level agreement guarantee for api delivery.

That is why you will get inconsistent answers about response times and inconsistent data in testing.

"Instantly" doesn't last forever https://shopify.dev/docs/api/usage/rate-limits 

Then there are factors such as server cache,  processing queues, etc.

 Shopify's own status https://www.shopifystatus.com

If this type of thing is mission critical seek a more expensive platform that provides a SLA.

Otherwise relax and just to build in remediation and fuzziness into your systems when you don't get "instant" service.