Last year I wanted to help out with the TextSecure browser (chrome extension) project and had a similar experience as the OP.
I was a bit at loss about where to begin, as I couldn't find documentation about getting the extension setup for dev/testing. Specifically I couldn't get past the QR-code auth screen as I seemed to be missing some special configuration to connect with the servers.
I just assumed it wasn't really ready for outside devs yet.
I'm happy to see WhisperSystems making contributing more accessible. I probably could have learned this stuff by asking the devs, but I didn't want to bother them, I much prefer reading docs and playing with it myself first.
I was a bit at loss about where to begin, as I couldn't find documentation about getting the extension setup for dev/testing. Specifically I couldn't get past the QR-code auth screen as I seemed to be missing some special configuration to connect with the servers.
I just assumed it wasn't really ready for outside devs yet.
But I just checked back in on the repo and it looks like a new CONTRIBUTING doc has been added, which is great: https://github.com/WhisperSystems/TextSecure-Browser/blob/ma... This is the type of stuff I was looking for.
I'm happy to see WhisperSystems making contributing more accessible. I probably could have learned this stuff by asking the devs, but I didn't want to bother them, I much prefer reading docs and playing with it myself first.