diff --git a/lib/gitlab/git/finders/refs_finder.rb b/lib/gitlab/git/finders/refs_finder.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a0117bc0fa91e45c9f1b37f32415aff7506e2174
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/gitlab/git/finders/refs_finder.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+module Gitlab
+  module Git
+    module Finders
+      class RefsFinder
+        attr_reader :repository, :search, :ref_type
+
+        UnknownRefTypeError = Class.new(StandardError)
+
+        def initialize(repository, search:, ref_type:)
+          @repository = repository
+          @search = search
+          @ref_type = ref_type
+        end
+
+        def execute
+          pattern = [prefix, search, "*"].compact.join
+
+          repository.list_refs(
+            [pattern]
+          )
+        end
+
+        private
+
+        def prefix
+          case ref_type
+          when :branches
+            Gitlab::Git::BRANCH_REF_PREFIX
+          when :tags
+            Gitlab::Git::TAG_REF_PREFIX
+          else
+            raise UnknownRefTypeError, "ref_type must be one of [:branches, :tags]"
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/lib/gitlab/git/finders/refs_finder_spec.rb b/spec/lib/gitlab/git/finders/refs_finder_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..63d794d1e594cf0b7db8a6799430db48b52b3902
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/lib/gitlab/git/finders/refs_finder_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+require "spec_helper"
+
+RSpec.describe Gitlab::Git::Finders::RefsFinder, feature_category: :source_code_management do
+  let_it_be(:user) { create(:user) }
+  let_it_be(:project) { create(:project, :repository) }
+
+  let(:repository) { project.repository }
+  let(:finder) { described_class.new(repository, **params) }
+  let(:params) { {} }
+
+  describe "#execute" do
+    subject { finder.execute }
+
+    context "when :ref_type is :branches" do
+      let(:params) do
+        { search: "mast", ref_type: :branches }
+      end
+
+      it { is_expected.to be_an(Array) }
+
+      it "returns matching ref object" do
+        expect(subject.length).to eq(1)
+
+        ref = subject.first
+
+        expect(ref).to be_a(Gitaly::ListRefsResponse::Reference)
+        expect(ref.name).to eq("refs/heads/master")
+        expect(ref.target).to be_a(String)
+      end
+    end
+
+    context "when :ref_type is :tags" do
+      let(:params) do
+        { search: "v1.0.", ref_type: :tags }
+      end
+
+      it { is_expected.to be_an(Array) }
+
+      it "returns matching ref object" do
+        expect(subject.length).to eq(1)
+
+        ref = subject.first
+
+        expect(ref).to be_a(Gitaly::ListRefsResponse::Reference)
+        expect(ref.name).to eq("refs/tags/v1.0.0")
+        expect(ref.target).to be_a(String)
+      end
+    end
+
+    context "when :ref_type is invalid" do
+      let(:params) do
+        { search: "master", ref_type: nil }
+      end
+
+      it "raises an error" do
+        expect { subject }.to raise_error(described_class::UnknownRefTypeError)
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end