It was operated without built-in ROMs and programs were entered directly with help of the CPU integrated DMA using 8 toggle switches and an Input push button.

(a hexadecimal keypad was an optional extension) The base configuration had 256 bytes of RAM, but expansion projects could raise that to a power of two-based memory store, with an upper limit of 64K address space.

Monochrome video output (with timing roughly approximating NTSC standard) could be generated using DMA operations interleaved with carefully arranged 1802 opcodes as instructions in software.

In August 2006, Nuts and Volts magazine, along with Spare Time Gizmos, released a project to build the "Cosmac Elf 2000," based on the original Elf, with some newer and easier to find components and enhanced features, modules, and functionality, including the STG1861 Pixie Graphics Replacement board that is functionally equivalent to the now-rare RCA CDP1861 integrated circuit.

The Membership Card is a modern, simple COSMAC Elf-like remake for retrocomputing hobbyists that is designed to fit in an Altoids tin.

A series of newsletters and small booklets offered by Netronics and Quest contained 1802 machine language and CHIP-8 programs, along with schematics for expanding the Elf and adding peripherals, including a light pen.

Pittman also wrote a small booklet about the 1802 titled "A Short Course In Programming", which he has allowed to be published and made available online free of charge.