diff --git a/changelogs/unreleased/public-tags-api.yml b/changelogs/unreleased/public-tags-api.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f5e844470b2bf222ce8709855cd00e6af6543c81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/unreleased/public-tags-api.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+---
+title: Allow public access to some Tag API endpoints
+merge_request: 
+author: 
diff --git a/doc/api/tags.md b/doc/api/tags.md
index 14573d48fe4776e80f221117874a0aea96d4ade3..7f78ffc2390b23ea1ed2d5264cf420701f7ff689 100644
--- a/doc/api/tags.md
+++ b/doc/api/tags.md
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@
 
 ## List project repository tags
 
-Get a list of repository tags from a project, sorted by name in reverse alphabetical order.
+Get a list of repository tags from a project, sorted by name in reverse
+alphabetical order. This endpoint can be accessed without authentication if the
+repository is publicly accessible.
 
 ```
 GET /projects/:id/repository/tags
@@ -40,7 +42,8 @@ Parameters:
 
 ## Get a single repository tag
 
-Get a specific repository tag determined by its name.
+Get a specific repository tag determined by its name. This endpoint can be
+accessed without authentication if the repository is publicly accessible.
 
 ```
 GET /projects/:id/repository/tags/:tag_name
diff --git a/lib/api/tags.rb b/lib/api/tags.rb
index cd33f9a9903ebba8b4235ec103661b7e15b9352c..5b345db3a41e5f1cfe696b7d9933ffbdcdf26155 100644
--- a/lib/api/tags.rb
+++ b/lib/api/tags.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 module API
   # Git Tags API
   class Tags < Grape::API
-    before { authenticate! }
     before { authorize! :download_code, user_project }
 
     params do
diff --git a/spec/requests/api/tags_spec.rb b/spec/requests/api/tags_spec.rb
index 06fa94fae879d07dc9b51758b54bbcaca72b4c1a..a1c32ae65ba85ad72a8439014f25a5b35312f181 100644
--- a/spec/requests/api/tags_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/requests/api/tags_spec.rb
@@ -15,6 +15,31 @@ describe API::Tags, api: true  do
     let(:tag_name) { project.repository.tag_names.sort.reverse.first }
     let(:description) { 'Awesome release!' }
 
+    shared_examples_for 'repository tags' do
+      it 'returns the repository tags' do
+        get api("/projects/#{project.id}/repository/tags", current_user)
+
+        expect(response).to have_http_status(200)
+
+        first_tag = json_response.first
+
+        expect(first_tag['name']).to eq(tag_name)
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'when unauthenticated' do
+      it_behaves_like 'repository tags' do
+        let(:project) { create(:project, :public) }
+        let(:current_user) { nil }
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'when authenticated' do
+      it_behaves_like 'repository tags' do
+        let(:current_user) { user }
+      end
+    end
+
     context 'without releases' do
       it "returns an array of project tags" do
         get api("/projects/#{project.id}/repository/tags", user)
@@ -45,17 +70,33 @@ describe API::Tags, api: true  do
   describe 'GET /projects/:id/repository/tags/:tag_name' do
     let(:tag_name) { project.repository.tag_names.sort.reverse.first }
 
-    it 'returns a specific tag' do
-      get api("/projects/#{project.id}/repository/tags/#{tag_name}", user)
+    shared_examples_for 'repository tag' do
+      it 'returns the repository tag' do
+        get api("/projects/#{project.id}/repository/tags/#{tag_name}", current_user)
+
+        expect(response).to have_http_status(200)
+
+        expect(json_response['name']).to eq(tag_name)
+      end
+
+      it 'returns 404 for an invalid tag name' do
+        get api("/projects/#{project.id}/repository/tags/foobar", current_user)
 
-      expect(response).to have_http_status(200)
-      expect(json_response['name']).to eq(tag_name)
+        expect(response).to have_http_status(404)
+      end
     end
 
-    it 'returns 404 for an invalid tag name' do
-      get api("/projects/#{project.id}/repository/tags/foobar", user)
+    context 'when unauthenticated' do
+      it_behaves_like 'repository tag' do
+        let(:project) { create(:project, :public) }
+        let(:current_user) { nil }
+      end
+    end
 
-      expect(response).to have_http_status(404)
+    context 'when authenticated' do
+      it_behaves_like 'repository tag' do
+        let(:current_user) { user }
+      end
     end
   end